M.Q.A.blog Archives

Visit my website at it's original address

2006-02-28T14:27:00.000-05:00

http://www.mqablog.com/

All new posts are at my regular web address

http://www.mqablog.com/

My Weekend Venting

2006-02-18T10:50:00.000-05:00

Six days since the great snowstorm of 2006. Believe it or not all the snow is pretty much gone. A combination of a well organized snow removal team and unseasonably warm weather has cleared nearly all of the white stuff (actually grey since about Tuesday) from the streets and sidewalks. If you want to see even more of my snow pictures from last Sunday lookie here.
UPDATE 11:40am Snowing right now! How about that!

The Dick Cheney story has been the source of some interest this week. What strikes me as most disturbing is this. The Vice President shoots a man, does not alert authorities for hours, does not inform the public for a day, does not talk about it for 3 days, admits alcohol was consumed prior to the shooting, facts of the case are still not resolved and what happens? The right wingers complain that people are talking about it! They act like it's a non-story and "the media" is biased against poor old Cheney! Of course everything Clinton did (and tons of stuff he never did) was the subject of non stop press coverage (by the right wing AND the mainstream media) but Cheney shoots a man and we are supposed to just overlook it. Further proof that there is a segment of the American population completely willing to give up any common sense in order to support their "party". Frightening! Yes, it's a modern day fascist movement, supported by a third of the population. They are good Republicans all right, but bad Americans. They value loyalty to party over common sense. Who knew so many people were so weak minded? Well, I did, but everyday more and more people are finally realizing it.

And what about the Dick himself? He had a terrible day, accidentally shooting a friend. The sight of the guy falling to the ground because of a weapon sickened him. This from one of the greatest warmongers in American history! It seems he never thought about the thousands of lives he is directly responsible for ending in Iraq. Maybe he will now. But not right away. He's back home in Wyoming this weekend, undoubtedly on a bender, trying to forget his terrible misfortune.

If this sorry tale illustrates anything it is that Dick Cheney is a coward. He was afraid to join the military when he was young, going through great efforts to avoid Viet Nam, but supported the use of force his entire life. For fun he shoots farm raised and caged birds, but asks us to feel his pain when a Budweiser induced accident inflicts harm on an innocent man. He hides for a day to sober up, and when forced to talk to someone goes straight to FOX News followed by a speech to the Wyoming (1 of only 6 states where a majority supports the administration) State House.

Typical. Dick Cheney really has never shown any amount of personal courage in his life. Yet he has always been the meanest, toughest guy around. Rep. Dick Cheney voted against a 1986 resolution calling for the release of Nelson Mandela. He was one of about 3 in the ENTIRE congress to vote that way. Big bad Dick. A no-nonsense guy. Shock and awe. But like most leaders in history with a violent bent, he is deep down a softie, a coward, overcompensating for his own masculine inadequacy.

Another story of interest this week is a speech that former VP Al Gore made in Saudi Arabia. Many rightwingers tried to use it as a diversion from Cheney's mysterious shooting. The Reds argue that Gore was unpatriotic (sound familiar?) by saying critical things about the USA while in a foreign country. They whined that "the media" was not covering such a shocking story. What rubbish. Here is what Al Gore said.

Gore told a mainly Saudi audience on Sunday that the U.S. government committed "terrible abuses" against Arabs after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and that most Americans did not support such treatment. Gore also said Arabs had been indiscriminately rounded up" and held in "unforgivable" conditions. The former vice president said the Bush administration was playing into al-Qaeda's hands by routinely blocking Saudi visa applications, reports AP.

Well, first of all everything Al Gore said was true. That is certainly one way to upset a conservative - speak the truth. I applaud Al Gore for letting the world know that not everyone supports this administration and their abuses of power. But the Reds see it another way. Some headlines in the right wing media

Al Gore Personifies Liberal Disloyalty To America

Gore fails to condemn Saudi Arabia intolerance

It would be humorous if it was not another sign of the crumbling of America. It is now disloyal to speak the truth? Bush can hold hands with the Saudi royal family, but Gore is condemned for speaking there? Listen to the right wingers. Not just those paid handsomely to spew the spin on TV and radio - but the everyday Republicans. You know they will repeat, word for word, the talking points. They will actually feel outraged at Gore's comments and outrage at the coverage of the Cheney shooting. Unfair, they say. Unfair, they believe.

I am always amazed, sadly so, to see the sincerity in their eyes as they make arguments, weak on the facts, weak on the logic and weak on common sense. They are indeed Blinded by the Right. Unfortunately it is not just their problem. It is all Americans and all the world. And boy are we suffering from their actions.

U-G-L-Y You ain't got no alibi

2006-02-17T12:12:00.000-05:00

Not only are physically unattractive teenagers likely to be stay-at-homes on prom night, they're also more likely to grow up to be criminals, say two economists who tracked the life course of young people from high school through early adulthood.
"We find that unattractive individuals commit more crime in comparison to average-looking ones, and very attractive individuals commit less crime in comparison to those who are average-looking," claim Naci Mocan of the University of Colorado and Erdal Tekin of Georgia State University.

full story

Airplane gains a passenger midair

2006-02-16T13:41:00.000-05:00

The crew of a Russian airplane had to act as midwives Thursday when a passenger suddenly went into labor, the Interfax news agency reported.
The Yakutia airlines jet was three hours into a flight from Moscow to the eastern Siberian city of Yakutsk when a 24-year-old woman complained of abdominal pains, an airline official said.
A physician among the passengers examined the woman and concluded that she was in premature labor. Following his advice, the pilot decided to land the plane at the nearest town, Mirny.
But the labor progressed quickly, and flight attendants were called to assist the woman. Thirty minutes before landing, a newborn girl passenger appeared on board the plane.

Guest Blogger: Atrios

2006-02-14T16:45:00.000-05:00

Things I've Learned Recently

Every conservative on the internet is an avid hunter and they've all been shot multiple times.

Shotguns aren't really guns, just toys. You can't really hurt people with them, only animals.

It's standard hunter etiquette to yell and scream at your fellow hunters as they're stalking their prey.

The most dangerous place to be is behind the people with the guns.

And Dick Cheney was not drunk, so stop saying that.

-Atrios

2006-02-14T07:34:00.000-05:00

HAPPY

VALENTINES

DAY

No Staight Shooting

2006-02-13T07:45:00.000-05:00

The Cheney shooting was initially hid from public

story

Blizzard '06 Photos

2006-02-12T23:28:00.000-05:00

What a day! It's late so I won't go on and on but I spent almost all day out in the blizzard. It was great fun. I took 70 or so pictures. click the link below to see about 10 of the best!

more here

Blizzard '06 part 1

2006-02-12T22:07:00.000-05:00

Some of you all saw my web cam Sunday and saw the snow fall LIVE. Others tried to get my web cam when I was out. Sorry. that I couldn't link you to the cam. I was out about 10 hours in the snow today and got some good pictures. I will post them later tonight. Check back.

And the web cam experiment was quite a success. I will do that more often.

2006-02-12T08:20:00.000-05:00

WOW! What a snowstorm. If you saw the web cam earlier you saw the heavy snow and wind NYC is getting. I will turn the camera on later so check the instant message systems and this blogs for update as to when and how.

Right now, I am going out to play in this stuff!

2006-02-12T00:13:00.000-05:00

NYC BLIZZARD WEB CAM ATTEMPT! - 8AM

2006-02-11T20:10:00.000-05:00

It's just after 8pm and has been snowing for almost five hours. There's still not much of an accumulation yet. The snow is wet and the thermometer outside my window says it's 38 degrees. Too warm for the snow to really stay around. The weather people here say it will be snowing it's hardest between 7am and noon. That's when I will attempt to broadcast from the great Blizzard of '06.

Tomorrow morning I will hook up my camera to the new computer and try to show you the snow. I have a spot, dangling from my top floor fire escape, that should give us a good look at the storm. The only way I know how to do that is through instant message systems. I will use AIM (AOL Instant Message). {Or windows messenger} If you don't know my screen name I will post it tomorrow morning. I have a pretty good shot from the fire escape but if it is windy and I can't block the snow from my camera I may only be able to have the camera on for a short while. But, if the early attempt works, and I get a good shot from inside then I will broadcast more during the day.

When you wake up come here. If I wake earlier I may start before 8.

2006-02-11T17:01:00.000-05:00

Just after 5 now and the snow has picked up. They are small flakes and blowing sideways in the 15 mph winds. None of it has stuck on the ground yet but it is a light if steady sowfall. It's still bright enough to look all the way down the road and it sure looks cool with the Empire State Building way down the road.

First Flurries

2006-02-11T15:46:00.000-05:00

3:45 and the first flurries have started. I am back from the stores with all the supplies (hot chocolate, cookies, sandwich stuff, tv dinners, water, vodka, tonic, limes, advil...... Let's hope the hype is lived up to. I've never been in a blizzard so I am ready!

live NYC radar

Weekend In

2006-02-11T11:27:00.000-05:00

Well things are good right now. I actually got a full night's sleep for the first time in weeks,I have the whole weekend off and a big snow storm is on the way. Also, my new computer is almost all set up and ready to go (It didn't come with Microsoft Word! What the Hell).

One of the great things about getting a new computer is that I will finally be able to stop using "Blogger". This is very convienient but constrains the creative possibilities. Soon I will be back to my old, Florida, format.

Time to shop and stock up on supplies for the storm. Lots of snack and comfort food.

Check back for updates all weekend long.

Here it comes

2006-02-10T23:11:00.000-05:00

2006-02-10T14:44:00.000-05:00

My new computer has arrived! I will spend the rest of the day setting it up. Big (real big) snowfall expected this weekend. You know I'll keep you posted!

Whats new(s)?

2006-02-08T11:58:00.000-05:00

My other web site Priority News! has plenty of important stories today. Be sure to check it out.

Also if YOU have a nose for news send me an e mail. [ MQA@MQAblog.com ] I am looking for contributors to post stories on Priority News! It's easy, fun and emotionally satisfying.

By the way, look for The Meek Voice to return soon. I am sharing a computer now and running 3 web sites and all my work and personal stuff has overloaded the thing. I have ordered a new computer and it should be here in a week or so. Once I load all my stuff on the new (more powerful) machine The Meek Voice will return.

Coretta Scott King Funeral

2006-02-08T08:24:00.000-05:00

Wasn't it nice to see President Bush have to face an audience that was not full of hand picked supporters? video He certainly got an earful. Of course the Republicans are whining about it now. The party that "swift boats" opponents without hesitation can't stand to have any dissent directed at them. A fellow blogger named Cheese Whiz has raised some strong counter argument to make as we begin to experience the "swift boating" of Jimmy Carter, Rev. Lowry and others who did not praise their King George.

Why do Republicans think they can tell the King family how to run their funeral?
Why do Republicans think they can tell black people how to conduct Mrs. King's service?
When a life is about activism, shouldn't its memorial be about activism as well?

For the most part Republican are just talking to their base and this familiar tactic is just to keep their mind closed and focused. But you never know when a young or influential person hears them and may not take the time to consider the hollowness of their outrage. So if you hear any Reds parrot the "swift boating" of those who spoke at the funeral., just ask them these questions. If nothing else it will cause them to pause and maybe, just maybe, crack open their mind just a little bit. It is also my hope that President Bush had his mind opened as well. all Presidents are isolated to some extent but Bush seems to embrace it. At least he knows now that many (if not most people) hold him responsible for the Katrina aftermath and do not appreciate illegal secret spying. A President has to be in touch with reality. Yesterday, George W. Bush, had a brief introduction to it.

Extortionist Gone Wild!

2006-02-08T08:13:00.000-05:00

I saw this story today - the first I heard of it. The creator of those Girls Gone Wild videos was held at gunpoint recently in an extortion attempt. I recently saw a news story on him and was surprised to find that he has become filthy rich from these videos. He has mansions, a private jet and a big bank account. I guess he's a modern day Hugh Hefner. He also needs a better security system.

A man was sentenced Tuesday to nearly 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to robbing ''Girls Gone Wild'' creator Joe Francis and forcing him at gunpoint to pose for a demeaning videotape as part of an extortion attempt.
Darnell Riley, 28, was sentenced after he pleaded guilty to robbery and attempted extortion as part of a deal with prosecutors who agreed to drop burglary, carjacking and kidnapping for ransom charges.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Kellogg sentenced him to 10 years and 8 months in state prison.
Francis testified during a preliminary hearing in December that Riley broke into his home Jan. 22, 2004, pulled a gun and bound and gagged him.
He said Riley forced him to partially disrobe and make sexually humiliating comments about himself. Francis also testified that Riley threatened to distribute the video unless Francis paid him $300,000 to $500,000.

The Red Defense

2006-02-07T08:06:00.000-05:00

This is really something. Yesterday Alberto Gonzales testified (is it considered 'testimony' if they refused to swear him in?) about the secret spying. As a long time Bush crony who's professional future is dependent on the continued 'brown nosing' of W, defend it he did. Unfortunately I couldn't watch the hearings or even catch any more than a few clips of it. What I have seen was Gonzales SAYING everything was legal and our freedoms are in tact. The word of a Republican is good enough for some, but not most.

One particular defense he gave though struck me as simplistic, even for the GOP. Senator Joe Biden was trying to determine how the fact that the program was exposed in the press hurt National Security. You will remember the whining out of the White House when the revelations broke, that it damaged our National Security. But how? The Attorney General enlightened us to their logic.

BIDEN: Thank you very much. General, how has this revelation damaged the program?I'm almost confused by it but, I mean, it seems to presuppose that these very sophisticated Al Qaida folks didn't think we were intercepting their phone calls.
GONZALES: Well, Senator, I would first refer to the experts in the Intel Committee who are making that statement, first of all. I'm just the lawyer. And so, when the director of the CIA says this should really damage our intel capabilities, I would defer to that statement. I think, based on my experience, it is true - you would assume that the enemy is presuming that we are engaged in some kind of surveillance. But if they're not reminded about it all the time in the newspapers and in stories, they
sometimes forget.

2006-02-07T07:44:00.000-05:00

Conservatves Protest against USA story

2006-02-05T15:38:00.000-05:00

The Super Bowl not shown on Live TV!

story

2006-02-04T15:15:00.000-05:00

FUNNY: video

Subway ads removed

2006-02-03T15:37:00.000-05:00

I need to write more about New York. If I did I would have mentioned this a week or so ago. Some new ads went up in the subway a couple weeks ago. They are tourist ads for the Bahamas. They are colorful but a bit too cute for NYC. They ask you to imagine scuba diving through a subway car or fishing with your scarf on the platform. I wondered why they would allow them since, with millions seeing the ads there bound to be at least one idiot who would to try it.

This week they were ordered down after complaints and concerns.

The ad campaign by the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism is running on at least one out of four subway cars in the city and is potentially in view of as many as five million subway riders. It is standing out, but not necessarily because it's getting people onto planes. Under the heading "Instant Escape No. 1: How to Turn a Subway Seat into a Hammock," one advertisement seems to encourage riders to hog subway seats as if resting in a hammock.
Another ad seems to encourage riders to imitate fishing in the
Caribbean by snagging subway track detritus by putting something sticky on a cellphone and attaching it to a scarf. It's called "Instant Escape No. 2: How to Fly Fish with a Scarf and a Cell Phone." The ads seem to contradict the official rules of conduct of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which say hands-off trash on the track and no hogging of seats.
Some straphangers have criticized the campaign in blogs. A comment from David Yockelson, 41, an investment banker from Rye Brook, N.Y., was typical. "Possibly the most stupid and flagrant ad was this one, which laughingly suggests that travelers attach their cellphones to their scarves with tape, put more tape on the cellphone, and then cast the scarf-phone-fishing pole into the tracks and see what they can find," he wrote.

Auto design changes save lives

2006-02-03T07:52:00.000-05:00

This story is a good example of why we can't let businesses operate without oversight by the public sector. The fact that these changes, which have now been proven to save lives, was resisted by automakers demonstrate that their bottom line is ... threir bottom line! Concern for safety took a back seat (pun intended) and had to be forced upon the auto executives. They were afraid it would effect their bottom line and put a dent in their high salary. Capitalism is great! It is primarily responsible for the great advances society has seen over the past 150 uears. However, without eegulations and oversight, it is a force susceptible to greed. A greed which would hurt many innocent people at the advantage of a very few wealthy and influential individuals.

Design changes that automakers initially resisted and then reluctantly adopted have sharply reduced the number of deaths among drivers
of cars struck by a sport utility vehicle or pickup, according to results
from the first study of the standards. The study, by the Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety, using data from the auto industry and the federal government, found that in side-impact collisions the number of deaths fell by nearly half hen automakers lowered S.U.V.'s by as little as half an inch or equipped them with hollow impact-absorbing bars below the front and rear bumpers. The changes are intended to reduce the frequency of S.U.V.'s and pickups' sliding
over cars' doorsills and bumpers and piercing deep into cars' passenger compartments.
The changes also reduced by a fifth the risk that an S.U.V. would kill a belted car driver in a frontal collision. The same changes in pickups produced smaller but still significant safety gains. Not since the air
bag has a safety standard been so effective in saving lives, experts say.
"To cut somebody's risk of death in half, that's huge," said Ricardo Martinez, the top auto safety regulator during the Clinton administration. "That's almost as good as seat belts. You're lucky if a new regulation gets you a 5 or 10 percent reduction in the death rate."

Joint Chiefs take time out to condemn cartoon

2006-02-02T08:30:00.000-05:00

Joint Chiefs Blast Toles’ Cartoon

In a move without precedent in recent memory, all six members of the military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff have signed a letter complaining to Washington Post managing editor Phil Bennett about a recent political cartoon.
The January 29th cartoon by Tom Toles depicts a wounded soldier, missing his arms and legs and with his head bandaged, in his hospital bed. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is standing next to bed, saying, “I am listing your condition as battle hardened.”
The cartoon is a reference to comments Rumsfeld made last Wednesday, January 25th, in which he blasted critics who said that America’s military was stretched too thin, saying they didn’t understand the state of the “battle-hardened” military.

Bush protected from Free Speech

2006-02-02T07:58:00.000-05:00

Not Allowed!

This is the shirt that Cindy Sheehan was dragged out of the State of the Union speech for. About an hour later, in an effort to allow an "equal opportunity*" argument to be made, the capital police also removed Beverly Young, a Republican congressman's wife who was wearing a pro-Bush shirt.

*About 45 minutes into the speech, an officer asked Beverly Young to step outside, where he told her: "We consider you a protester" because of her shirt, she said. She said she angrily challenged officers to explain what law she had violated, and they threatened arrest. She said an officer mentioned that Sheehan was removed earlier and therefore "it was kind of only fair" that she be asked to leave, too."They publicly humiliated me," Young told reporters. "They insulted our troops." When the congressman heard what had happened to his wife, he summoned Gainer to his office and called Karl Rove, the president's deputy chief of staff.

The capitol police later apologized for both incidents.

This story out of Florida...

2006-01-31T19:22:00.000-05:00

Mother sues state police after death of baby

A Monticello woman who was having labor pains and being rushed to the hospital is suing the Florida Highway Patrol, alleging that her baby died because she was detained for too long over a speeding ticket.
However, the FHP found the trooper acted appropriately and a complaint later filed by the woman was unfounded. The FHP also says an offer for an ambulance was turned down.
Sharita Denmark filed the lawsuit last week in Leon Circuit Court against the FHP and Cpl. Gary Dawson, the trooper. It states that her mother, Brenda Benjamin, was driving her to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital on May 25 when Dawson stopped the vehicle on U.S. Highway 90 at Interstate 10.
The lawsuit states that despite being told that she was in labor, Dawson detained her for "an extended period of time." By the time she reached TMH, her baby, Bre'Miria Williams Denmark, was no longer moving. The mother had a caesarean section, but the baby died.
"Ms. Denmark was informed that had she gotten to the hospital any faster, the medical doctors could have attempted to save the baby," the lawsuit states.

The Attorney General's (dis)Honesty

2006-01-31T07:27:00.000-05:00

Next Monday, attorney General (and Bush Texas crony) Alberto Gonzales come before the US Senate to defend the secret domestic surveillance program recently revealed by the NY Times. When he gets there Senator Russ Feingold will call him out on what appears to be a lie* he made to the congress during his confirmation hearing.
*In Red America Republicans never lie. I am using language from the old USA.

Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) charged yesterday that Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales misled the Senate during his confirmation hearing a year ago when he appeared to try to avoid answering a question about whether the president could authorize warrantless wiretapping of U.S. citizens. In a letter to the attorney general yesterday, Feingold demanded to know why Gonzales dismissed the senator's question about warrantless eavesdropping as a "hypothetical situation" during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in January 2005. At the hearing, Feingold asked Gonzales where the president's authority ends and whether Gonzales believed the president could, for example, act in contravention of existing criminal laws and spy on U.S. citizens without a warrant.

Sen. Russell Feingold asked about warrantless eavesdropping, and the nominee called it "hypothetical.",'Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) charged yesterday that Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales misled the Senate during his
confirmation hearing a year ago when he appeared to try to avoid answering a question about whether the president could authorize warrantless wiretapping of
U.S. citizens.',Gonzales said that it was impossible to answer such a hypothetical question but that it was "not the policy or the agenda of this president" to authorize actions that conflict with existing law. He added that he would hope to alert Congress if the president ever chose to authorize warrantless surveillance, according to a transcript of the hearing.In fact, the president did secretly authorize the National Security Agency to begin warrantless monitoring of calls and e-mails between the United States and other nations soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The program, publicly revealed in media reports last
month, was unknown to Feingold and his staff at the time Feingold questioned
Gonzales, according to a staff member. Feingold's aides developed the 2005
questions based on privacy advocates' concerns about broad interpretations of
executive power.Gonzales was White House counsel at the time the
program began and has since acknowledged his role in affirming the president's authority to launch the surveillance effort. Gonzales is scheduled to testify Monday before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the program's legal rationale.

Bush propaganda includes the pictures of him you see

2006-01-30T08:18:00.000-05:00

"The White House staff photographer's role is to document the president. They have now crossed the line and become public relations photographers for the administration."

Myth of liberal media debunked, for the millionth time

2006-01-30T07:59:00.000-05:00

"How does one report the facts," asked Rob Corddry on "The Daily Show," "when the facts themselves are biased?" He explained to Jon Stewart, who played straight man, that "facts in Iraq have an anti-Bush agenda," and therefore can't be reported.

A False Balance
By PAUL KRUGMAN
"How does one report the facts," asked Rob Corddry on "The Daily Show," "when the facts themselves are biased?" He explained to Jon Stewart, who played straight man, that "facts in Iraq have an anti-Bush agenda," and therefore can't be reported.
Mr. Corddry's parody of journalists who believe they must be "balanced" even when the truth isn't balanced continues, alas, to ring true. The most recent example is the peculiar determination of some news organizations to cast the scandal surrounding Jack Abramoff as "bipartisan."

Let's review who Mr. Abramoff is and what he did.
Here's how a 2004 Washington Post article described Mr. Abramoff's background:
"Abramoff's conservative-movement credentials date back more than two decades to his days as a national leader of the College Republicans." In the 1990's, reports the article, he found his "niche" as a lobbyist "with entree to the conservatives who were taking control of Congress. He enjoys a close bond with [Tom] DeLay."
Mr. Abramoff hit the jackpot after Republicans took control of the White House as well as Congress. He persuaded several Indian tribes with gambling interests that they needed to pay vast sums for his services and those of Michael Scanlon, a former DeLay aide. From the same Washington Post article:
"Under Abramoff's guidance, the four tribes ... have also become major political donors. They have loosened their traditional ties to the Democratic Party, giving Republicans two-thirds of the $2.9 million they have donated to federal candidates since 2001, records show."

So Mr. Abramoff is a movement conservative whose lobbying career was based on his connections with other movement conservatives. His big coup was persuading gullible Indian tribes to hire him as an adviser; his advice was to give less money to Democrats and more to Republicans. There's nothing bipartisan about this tale, which is all about the use and abuse of Republican connections.
Yet over the past few weeks a number of journalists, ranging from The Washington Post's ombudsman to the "Today" show's Katie Couric, have declared that Mr. Abramoff gave money to both parties. In each case the journalists or their news organization, when challenged, grudgingly conceded that Mr. Abramoff himself hasn't given a penny to Democrats. But in each case they claimed that this is only a technical point, because Mr. Abramoff's clients — those Indian tribes — gave money to Democrats as well as Republicans, money the news organizations say he directed" to Democrats.

But the tribes were already giving money to Democrats before Mr. Abramoff entered the picture; he persuaded them to reduce those Democratic donations, while giving much more money to Republicans. A study commissioned by The American Prospect shows that the tribes' donations to Democrats fell by 9 percent after they hired Mr. Abramoff, while their contributions to Republicans more than doubled. So in any normal sense of the word "directed," Mr. Abramoff directed funds away from Democrats, not toward them.
True, some Democrats who received tribal donations before Mr. Abramoff's entrance continued to receive donations after his arrival. How, exactly, does this implicate them in Mr. Abramoff's machinations? Bear in mind that no Democrat has been indicted or is rumored to be facing indictment in the Abramoff scandal, nor has any Democrat been credibly accused of doing Mr. Abramoff questionable favors.
There have been both bipartisan and purely Democratic scandals in the past. Based on everything we know so far, however, the Abramoff affair is a purely Republican
scandal.
Why does the insistence of some journalists on calling this one-party scandal bipartisan matter? For one thing, the public is led to believe that the Abramoff affair is just Washington business as usual, which it isn't. The scale of the scandals now coming to light, of which the Abramoff affair is just a part, dwarfs anything in living memory.More important, this kind of misreporting makes the public feel helpless. Voters who are told, falsely, that both parties were drawn into Mr. Abramoff's web are likely to become passive and shrug their shoulders instead of demanding reform.
So the reluctance of some journalists to report facts that, in this case, happen to have an anti-Republican agenda is a serious matter. It's not a stretch to say that these journalists are acting as enablers for the rampant corruption that has emerged in Washington over the last decade.

ABC Anchor Bob Woodruff Seriously Injured in Iraq

2006-01-29T09:07:00.000-05:00

ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff and a cameraman were seriously injured Sunday in an explosion while reporting from Iraq, the network said Sunday.
Woodruff and cameraman Doug Vogt were hit by an improvised explosive device near Taji, Iraq, and were in serious condition at a U.S. military hospital, ABC News President David Westin said.
The two were embedded with the 4th Infantry Division and traveling with an Iraqi Army unit.
The U.S. military headquarters in Baghdad confirmed that the ABC News team was involved in an attack but declined to provide further details to The Associated Press. An official military statement was expected to be issued later Sunday.
Woodruff was named co-anchor of ABC News' "World News Tonight" with Elizbeth Vargas this month after the death of Peter Jennings. In an unusual approach to evening news shows, one of the two co-anchors typically reports from the studio in New York while the other reports from the field, as Woodruff was doing in Iraq.

GUEST BLOGGER: B's Thoughts

2006-01-27T15:24:00.000-05:00

"Million Little Pieces "

About a month or so ago, I picked up a book that I thought had an interesting cover (and they say you can't judge a book by it's cover!). This book was called " A Million Little Pieces". I read the back cover and thought it sounded very interesting, but I didn't buy it because I knew I would be too busy to read it. Now I wish I had. A few weeks after I looked at it, suddenly it became popular. The author was on Oprah, she had picked it as one of her picks, even Regis and Kelly were talking about it (not that they hold any literary awards). What I did not know when I originally looked at it, was that it was a memoir and frankly, I didn't care if it was true or not - it sounded good. Now suddenly the author, who admitted to taking literary license, is being called a liar. He embarrassed Oprah, so now the world is looking down on him. I was watching CNN last night - Anderson what's his name 360 (personally I think he is an idiot) - and that was the top news story. HEAVEN FORBID someone embellish a story to make it sell better. When Larry King asked Anderson whether or not he liked the book, he said he didn't think much of it, but when King asked him if it had been published as a fiction book, Anderson backpedaled and said that it was great. Who did he hurt by this? Some are arguing that he hurt the rehab clinic he spoke of in the book, and now some may not seek help for fear of the treatment they will receive - I think it is just another excuse not to get help and to keep using. YOUR president lies on a daily basis, and this doesn't receive the national attention or criticism that Frey is getting. I have never been through rehab, and can only imagine what kind of fear must accompany it, and I am guessing that many of the things Frey wrote about happened in his mind, the way HE saw it. If you perform a scene in front of 5 different people, and then pull them into separate rooms and ask them what they saw, you will more than likely get 5 different accounts. Add to this being high, or coming off a high and going through withdrawals, and you can only imagine the story you will get. Personally, I am still going to purchase the book because I have heard nothing but great reviews on the way it was written, and I hope he has much success. As far as Oprah is concerned, maybe she was "duped", but I am sure it isn't the first time, and certainly won't be the last, so she can cry all she wants to the bank with her umteen million dollars - get over it!

originally posted on B's Thoughts

2006-01-27T09:58:00.000-05:00

"Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword.It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind. . . . And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded with patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader, and gladly so.
How do I know?
For this is what I have done.
And I am Caesar. "
- William Shakespeare

Just a coincidence

2006-01-27T07:41:00.000-05:00

because we know that the military wouldn't lie to us

The U.S. military said Thursday it would release five Iraqi women detainees, a move demanded by the kidnappers of an American reporter to spare her life. A U.S. official said the release had nothing to do with the kidnappers' demand

It was illegal, but for own good so they don't hurt us again

2006-01-24T08:17:00.000-05:00

Watching Washington Journal on C-SPAN in the morning can really provide a window into the mind of Red Americans. All 'red educated' by FOX and talk radio from the day before, callers on the Republican line are prepared with their talking points. It only takes a few of them to get the idea of what they have been told. After that it is repetitive, after all you can only repeat what you learned so many ways.

The latest spin coming form the Reds is that even if Bush broke the law it was for our own good. He is trying to protect us form the terrorists and the New York Times ended all that. We are now at risk.

A few observations:

1. The previously hidden fact that Republicans have been compulsively lying for at least a generation is now out in the open. It's being repackaged as courage, wisdom and security. I suppose we all should forget about their outrage at Democrats untruthfulness in the past. Oh yeah 9-11 changed everything. EVERYTHING!

2. Reds are really chickenshits. No wonder they embrace the "daddy party', the Republicans. Everyone was horrified and frightened by 9-11, but Reds seemed to be genuinely petrified to the point where they can't think straight. Just listen to Bush pander by talking about how "they want to hurt us". Of course they do dumbass, but is that justification for bombing innocent nations and breaking the law? Listen to a conservative and they are like a sniviling baby worried about the next attack. But talk to them about attacking someone else and they sure start talking tough. It makes it pretty clear why so many in the Bush administration are chickenhawks - pro war, unless they actually have to fight it.

3. Red voters will repeat anything they are told if it is said by a source they trust. Sorry folks, that is called brainwashing, and it is another sign of weakness by so many in our country. I know I am biased and not completely consistent. That's human nature. But to compare the thoughts, words and deeds of Reds now compared to the past, the hypocrisy is astounding. All the world sees it, half of Americans see it but those callers to C-SPAN and the rest of the Reds are oblivious to the inconsistent and illogical words passing their lips.

4. If and when we are attacked again, look for the Bush administration and their followers to blame liberals. Really! Write this down and bet the mortgage, they will say that everything was under control until the leak of this spy program. "If only the liberals had let us be", they will argue, "we would have stayed safe". (Also look for Reds to believe and repeat it.)

To me all this reveals the Republican Party as an Un-American movement willing to manipulate people and the truth in order to gain, keep and expand their power. I have been warning people on radio, in print and online now for more than a dozen years. This morning I just want to restate my observations for the new visitors to MQAblog.

The bin Laden tapes

2006-01-20T07:11:00.000-05:00

Yesterday "Public Enemy #1", the "Wanted Dead or Alive" man himself Usama bin Laden (UBL) released a new audio tape. In it he promised more attacks and offered something of a truce to the United States. I usually hate to state the obvious, but with so many people twisting the words, beliefs and feelings of 'non conservatives' perhaps it is important to do just that.

I think bin Laden motives are to further divide the country. He sees how the Bush administration is under fire for going overboard on their domestic security and he sees the infighting about it. Bin Laden thinks he can take advantage of that. 'Conservatives' may argue that this proves that such criticism against the President and his policies give aid and comfort to the enemy. I say that UBL may be getting some false comfort, but he will get no aid even from the harshest of Bush critics. We don't want a world in the image of George Bush and we sure as Hell don't want one in the image of UBL. His words don't effect my opinion on Bush, Iraq, the war on terror or anything one bit. He is still public enemy #1 to all Americans and sane people across the world.

As far as the offer of a "truce" I have to laugh. Nice try, no deal. We may have a nut job as President, attacking the wrong country, spying on Americans, poorly preparing us for future attacks, but al Qaida has to be destroyed for the good of the world. The truce offer is a joke and no one I know or respect would even consider such a meaningless offer.

The Bin Laden threats should be taken seriously. Our diversion in Iraq has left him not only alive, but still at least the figure-head leader of al Qaida. I am sure there are those inside our borders who plan to attack. They may succeed in doing so. However it will only strengthen the resolve of all Americans to defeat al Qaida, even as we continue to call for the removal of our President who has handled this danger so incompetently and illegally. We can easily separate the issues. Bin Laden and others make a mistake if they think we don't.

Usama bin Laden has no sympathy from progressive or Bush critics. However, just because we all agree that we hate bin Laden, it does not mean we will automatically concur with all the President's actions in the name of that cause. All Americans share the same goal, our arguments are only on the means to achieve them. In America we criticize our leaders even punishing those who break the laws. But just because UBL hates Bush and many people in the USA also dislike George Bush, that does not mean that we therefore support anything bin Laden has to say. If UBL, GWB or anyone else thinks differently they only further demonstrate their lack of understanding of the people of the United States.

related article by MQAblog

A Good Thing? Oklahoma City Conspirator to be Released

2006-01-19T20:06:00.000-05:00

When I first heard that Michael Fortier was to be freed from prison I was angry. The 1993 attack on the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was a horrific act of domestic terrorism. Women and children were among the hundreds killed that April in 1993 and I wanted harsh punishment for anyone involved in this anti-American behavior.
During the Oklahoma City investigation and trial I wanted everyone to get lifetime imprisonment, hopeful that it would deterfuture right wing wakos. This included people like Michael Fortier who were not indirectly involved in the bombing but shared the ideology. I did not get my wish.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Michael Fortier was sentenced to 12 years and ordered to pay $200,000 US in fines after pleading to having prior knowledge of the bombing plan but not alerting authorities, to helping move and sell stolen guns, and to lying to federal authorities

Yesterday, though I saw the end of the Abrams Report on MSNBC and heard him making a very good point about the impending release. He argued that it was actually very good that Fortier was being let go at this time. First, Dan Abrams talked about why he should have been punished for his involvement.

Fortier admitted that McVeigh told him about the plot to bomb the Murrah Building before it happened. He says he didn't think McVeigh would actually do it and there is nothing to suggest he helped them carry out the plot in any way. But nevertheless he deserved to be punished. But unlike most criminals who cut deals, the feds had almost nothing on him when he turned, possibly a gun charge. He was called as a witness before the grand jury and rather than cover his behind like most, he came clean and told the authorities he would cooperate in any way he could. That included incriminating himself by admitting that he was told about the plot.

The he explained that without this eventual admission by Fortier prosecution of McVeigh and Nichols may not have been possible. Abrams agued that the release of Fortier would encourage others in a similar position to expose serious crimes, realizing that the risk of punishment would be tempered by the promise of eventual freedom.

Under the law, his failure to report what he knew is a crime, but we need to encourage people like Fortier to come forward and come clean. His testimony was crucial. He told the back-story that made the other evidence, receipts, sightings, et cetera, come together. Without him it would have been far more difficult to get convictions of both McVeigh and Nichols. We always talk about using the justice system to send a message to criminals to let them know they will be punished for their crimes.
Then we also need to send an equally important message to lesser offenders that they will get some benefit for testifying against their friends. Fortier will now emerge from prison a targeted man. He's given up everything because his buddies were evil, and now he's served more time than many of the prosecutors on this case ever wanted. The victims' families appear divided. I understand the anger of those who say he should remain behind bars because he could have prevented it from happening.

I am not a regular viewer of Dan Abrams show and may not find myself agreeing with him again anytime soon. But this type of argument needed to be made. We see so much abuse of the criminal justice system with white collar criminals getting slaps on the wrists while drug offenders rot behind bars. It good to recognize when leniency can be used to a positive end and take notice when the Justice system administers a fair penalty based on the public good.

read HERE how others commented on my blog entry...MQAblog

DEBUNKED! 'Clinton did it too' found to be factually inaccurate

2006-01-18T07:21:00.000-05:00

What's the old saying? Denial is more than a river...Something like that. One of the arguments we are hearing now in defense of President Bush's secret electronic monitoring is that Clinton did it too. Here is yet more evidence that this is not true. Notice that these misleading statements are being made at the highest level of the Bush Administration. It is little wonder that so many are misinformed.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the Clinton-Gore administration had engaged in warrantless physical searches, and he cited an FBI search of the home of CIA turncoat Aldrich Ames without permission from a judge. He said Clinton's deputy attorney general, Jamie Gorelick, had testified before Congress that the president had the inherent authority to engage in physical searches without warrants. "I think his hypocrisy knows no bounds," McClellan said of Gore. But at the time of the Ames search in 1993 and when Gorelick testified a year later, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act required warrants for electronic surveillance for intelligence purposes, but did not cover physical searches. The law was changed to cover physical searches in 1995 under legislation that Clinton supported and signed.

Bush's attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, made the same arguments as McClellan during interviews Monday on CNN's "Larry King Live" and Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes."

Of the comments, former Vice President Al Gore said Gonzales made a "political defense" of the president, showing why the attorney general should not be in charge of reviewing charges against Bush and should instead name a special counsel. "His charges are factually wrong," Gore said in a written statement Tuesday. "Both before and after the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was amended in 1995, the Clinton-Gore administration complied fully and completely with the terms of the law."

Guest Blogger: 'America Blog'

2006-01-17T18:50:00.000-05:00

Slew of Republicans refer to Democratic party as "plantation"

- when are they apologizing?

by John in DC - 1/17/2006 05:42:00 PM

If Hillary needs to apologize for using the word "plantation" to describe the GOP, I can't wait for the media to now demand apologies from:

Townhall.com
The National Review
The Wall Street Journal
Rush Limbaugh Show
Newsmax
The Washington Times
Bob Novak

Hat tip to Atrios

'President' Gore's Speech

2006-01-16T14:11:00.000-05:00

Today Al Gore delivered one of the most important speeches of our lifetime. He laid it on the line that our country is in real danger of being destroyed by George W Bush and his actions. It reminds us all what America is really about. The mainstream media will probably not carry more than a sound bite (if that) and right wingers will smear the man as usual. But I suggest you grab a cup of coffee and settle in to hear a powerful call to action to save The United States of America. (Aired ONLY on C-Span - look for replays - full video to be posted here later)

video clips
full text
discussion

Happy MLK Day

2006-01-16T07:45:00.000-05:00

It's a freezing Monday morning here in New York with temperatures in the teens. Over the weekend it was almost as cold with 50 MPH winds. Certainly the coldest since I got here, but it snowed too so that's nice.

I have to work today but here in Harlem today is a big holiday. The streets are empty, when they are normally bustling with people heading to work. I'm sure the weather is also a factor. There is a parade and many other events today here and throughout the city. Unfortunately it is just another Monday for me.

How to talk to a Conservative

2006-01-14T00:50:00.000-05:00

Funny faux conversation I came across

read it here

Researcher: Early Man Was Hunted by Birds

2006-01-12T10:19:00.000-05:00

An anthropologist said Thursday his research into the death nearly 2 million years ago of an ape-man shows human ancestors were hunted by birds. The Ohio State study determined that eagles would swoop down, pierce monkey skulls with their thumb-like back talons, then hover while their prey died before returning to tear at the skull. Examination of thousands of monkey remains produced a pattern of damage done by birds, including holes and ragged cuts in the shallow bones behind the eye sockets.

Do you have a nose for news?

2006-01-11T11:51:00.000-05:00

Priority News! Is looking for contributors

Contributors would be brought on for a limited time I would give you a password and you could post any time you wish - day or night.

Send an e mail MQA@MQAblog.com for more information

Been a busy week

2006-01-11T11:41:00.000-05:00

I really haven't posted much this week because I have been very, very busy. This week is the Holiest of Muslim holidays. How does that effect me? Well most of the people where I work are Muslim so I have had to undergo some on-the-job training and now working for them at a variety of positions. It has been fun, learning so many new things at work but also exhausting. Apparently tonight is the final night of "EID" and I am running the show at work. Monday I was there for almost 14 hours and I expect to work until at least 1am tonight. I think, that is all for the celebrations for another 6 months. I wish all my co-workers an Eid Mubarak and myself good luck at covering for them at work. They do a lot and have been for a while so there are some big shoes to fill!

Love, Republican Style

2006-01-10T20:40:00.000-05:00

VIDEO: Bush compares his injury to that of wounded solders

2006-01-06T20:11:00.000-05:00

President Bush visited some wounded troops the other day and made a statement that has many people outraged. Apparently he hurt himself again, this time clearing brush, and he used this backyard mishap to compare himself to the hospitalized veterans. It was too much for some to take.

"The president needs to understand what combat means. It is not tangling with a chain saw and some prickly pear brush. It involves firearms and explosives. It means watching your best friend bleed out on the battlefield. It means mind numbing fear as you prepare to enter a building that may or may not be providing refuge for a terrorist. It means killing other human beings. And for some, it leaves an emotional scar that the brave soldiers carry with them to their grave".

Funny Money Worth A Mint

2006-01-06T15:12:00.000-05:00

Is the administration spying on Journalists?

2006-01-04T23:36:00.000-05:00

Read all about it on my new web site Priority News!

Praise Bush for no new attacks?

2006-01-03T14:26:00.000-05:00

read all about it at my new web site The Meek Voice

New Years Eve

2006-01-01T16:02:00.000-05:00

I had a great night last night. Sarah and I went for a few drinks and then dinner in Greenwich Village before heading to Times Square. We figured it probably not be a place to stay but we wanted to check it out since we had time.

Turns out that Times Square itself was not that much fun. You couldn't go anywhere, instead everyone was herded up and down, block after block. The NYPD were very tense and yelling at people to keep order. It was bad treatment, even for tourists. We have some favorite tucked away spots in Times Square but there was no way we could get over to them so we ducked out to the liquor store and the subway station.

We made it home at about 11:30, relaxed and turned on the TV. I saw Dick Clark and it was both sad and encouraging. He s a brave and determined man for coming back so strong but it was very unnerving at first to see "The World's Oldest Teenager "ailing like he was. The neighbors shot off fireworks at 12 and an ample suplly of Christmas goodies made for a pleasent evening bringing on the new year.

-----------

You all probably know about the new website, The Meek Voice I launched over the weekend. Well, I started to think that if "MQAblog" is for my personal and New York stuff and "The Meek Voice" tackles one topic at a time, what about the daily news of importance? There are thousands of news stories everyday, a few of which I think are of high priority. Therefore the launch of Priority News. A continual update of news stories I think are of exceptional importance or interest.

Thank you for your support.

This time it's sticking!

2005-12-31T16:25:00.000-05:00

It started snowing again and this time it is not melting when it hits the ground. Let's hope it sticks around till midnight.

2005-12-31T12:36:00.000-05:00

"This may be the busiest day EVER in Midtown"

2005-12-31T12:17:00.000-05:00

Crowds in Midtown during the holiday season are nothing new, but this year's crowds appear to be thicker and denser. It is a change that has not gone unnoticed by the people and machines that monitor such things.
Daniel A. Biederman, executive director of the Bryant Park Restoration Corporation, said that by Wednesday a number of Manhattan business people "were saying to each other independently that this may be the busiest day ever in Midtown."
Cristyne L. Nicholas, president of NYC & Company, the city's tourism bureau, agreed, saying that the economic benefits of such crowds may help ease the losses suffered during the 60-hour transit strike. She said Manhattan hotels were at more than 90 percent occupancy by midweek, higher than usual for the holiday week before the arrival of visitors for New Year's Eve.
"I don't recall seeing these kinds of crowds, ever," she said.

full story

Snowy start to the end of 2005

2005-12-31T09:58:00.000-05:00

I woke up this morning and it is snowing like crazy. I just have to think of the tourists here in New York, spending New Years in the city. It must be especially nice for them to wake up to the nice big floating flakes that are silently falling right now. I remember when I came up to visit for New Year's 2000 it was cold (and I think some leftover snow on the ground) but no fresh falling snow. Unfortunately, it's supposed to turn to rain later today and for tonight. I hope not . I plan to go out to do something tonight but standing for hours in a freezing rain is not high on the list. Walking around in the snow however would not be bad at all!

If I don't see, talk or write to you by then...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

THE MEEK VOICE (www.MeekVoice.com)

2005-12-30T20:15:00.000-05:00

I'm launching another web site, The Meek Voice, today.

Right now I will do a single topic per page. I will update pages based on viewer submissions and related stories I may come across. I will add more pages based on available time and interest of stories.

Each page stays "live" indefinitely so updates and comments will be continually added. New pages will be introduced once a week at the very least.

I will use MQAblog for personal stories and focus on news items on The Meek Voice. You can link to The Meek Voice from the column on the right hand side of this page. I have also purchased specific this domain name for the site.

Direct link to The Meek Voice is

http://www.MeekVoice.com/

Bookmark it if you so desire

Bush Administration also found to monitor US computers

2005-12-29T08:16:00.000-05:00

Need more evidence that government surveillance in Red America is more prevalent that you may have imagined? Look at this little nugget I found in the news today. The did it. They hid it and now they have been caught. I can only imagine what else these people are up to.

The National Security Agency's Internet site has been placing files on visitors' computers that can track their Web surfing activity despite strict federal rules banning most of them. These files, known as "cookies," disappeared after a privacy activist complained and The Associated Press made inquiries this week, and agency officials acknowledged Wednesday they had made a mistake. Nonetheless, the issue raises questions about privacy at a spy agency already on the defensive amid reports of a secretive eavesdropping program in the United States.

This is the week

2005-12-28T10:37:00.000-05:00

This is the week, in between Christmas and New Year's, where everything seems to slow down. Most people are on vacation and things seem to be on auto-pilot. It's nice. As for me I am working away and enjoying everyone else being relaxed and in a holiday induced good mood.

My Christmas was great. Very relaxing and low key. It was a relief to have the transit strike end and the weather in New York is quite mild. The Christmas lights, in our apartment and in town, still are on and to me they always look nicer after December 25th. Instead of signaling a impeding event, the light now just brightens up the area with memories of a happy holiday.

Since I am so busy this week I may or may not do a 2005 retrospective or a 2006 "look ahead". You'll just have to check back and see.

Quote of the day: Bruce Springsteen

2005-12-27T13:27:00.000-05:00

... "We forget that every adult was brought up on fairy tales so it's natural to go on and, politically for example, want to believe that your President is a nice, honest man. The inability to turn to an adult perspective once you get to the age where you have some political weight is a great tragedy, and this is a period of history when it seems the most obvious type of disguise is on display to the entire world and yet those are the people who are still in power".

2005-12-24T19:20:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas!

Johnny Damon

2005-12-23T14:39:00.000-05:00

BECOMING A YANKEE IS SO EASY...

.... EVEN A CAVEMAN CAN DO IT!

(Don't) Read His lips

2005-12-23T14:35:00.000-05:00

This is a good piece from Hardball yesterday show the numerous times President Bush told the American people that wiretapping required oversight. But, he was misleading us to fool the terrorists so it's OK. video

Another justification for spying questioned

2005-12-22T09:29:00.000-05:00

Bin Laden Phone Leak an 'Urban Legend'?
By E&P Staff Published: December 22, 2005
In a Thursday article in The Washington Post, veteran reporter Glenn Kessler writes that the much-lamented press leak about Osama bin Laden's use of a satellite phone "appears to be an urban myth."Most recently, President Bush asserted once again this week that the news media, notably the Washington Times, published the leak in 1998, alerting al Qaeda to U.S. monitoring and causing bin Laden to abandon the device.But Kessler reports that bin Laden's use of sat phone "had already been reported in 1996 -- and the source of the information was another government, the Taliban, which ruled Afghanistan at the time.

Secret Surveillance focuses on Private moments

2005-12-22T05:43:00.000-05:00

"If you have nothing to hide, you should not fear government intrusion" we are told. Well I guess they really do mean NOTHING to hide!

December 22, 2005
Police Video Caught a Couple's Intimate Moment on a Manhattan Rooftop
By JIM DWYER
A man and woman who shared an intimate moment on a secluded, dark rooftop one August night last year have learned that they were secretly watched, an intrusion made possible by increased police surveillance of protest rallies and other events and also by advanced technology intended to fight terrorists.
That night, police officers tracked bicycle riders moving through the streets of the Lower East Side from a custom-built, $9.8 million helicopter equipped with optical equipment able to display a license plate 1,000 feet away.
With the night vision of the helicopter's camera, and permission to make videotapes, an officer also recorded nearly four minutes of the couple on the terrace of a Second Avenue penthouse.
"When you watch the tape, it makes you feel kind of ill," said Jeffrey Rosner, 51, one of the two people. "I had no idea they were filming me - who would ever have an idea like that?"
The tape was made on Aug. 27, 2004, just before the Republican National Convention. That night, several thousand bicycle riders arrived for a group ride that did not have a permit.
The helicopter followed the riders but turned the camera on the couple. High above Second Avenue, they seemed to be shielded from view by a wall of shrubs and the nearly total darkness. The police camera, however, included special thermal-imaging equipment that yielded distinct, if ghostly, images.

An Important reminder

2005-12-22T00:06:00.000-05:00

There is so much serious stuff going on I have had to change my plan to keep things lighthearted around the holidays. One such story is the universal unease the world is feeling about the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. By all accounts he is a religious fundamentalist that wants to go nuclear and fast! He has also made some strong anti-Israel statements. So how was this crazy man swept into office when the growing number of people in Iran have been moving in a more progressive direction?

This Classic MQAblog will remind you.

BREAKING: CONSERVATIVE COURT SLAMS WHITE HOUSE IN PADILLIA CASE

2005-12-21T21:43:00.000-05:00

This is really something. The Judiciary is now in revolt against the Bush Administration. First a Federal Judge resigns in protest over the domestic spying, now this. A conservative court, one of the administrations closest allies in the nation, has slammed the Bush team in shockingly harsh tones. One of the critics was on the short list for Bush's Supreme Court picks.

A U.S. appeals court, acting in the case of alleged "enemy combatant" Jose Padilla, today rejected the administration's move to avoid another Supreme Court review of its powers of detention, blasting the government in unusually blunt terms for its behavior in the case.
Today, the panel rejected both requests in an opinion written by J. Michael Luttig, a conservative often mentioned on the administration's short list for the U.S. Supreme Court. The appeals court opinion reflected a tone of anger that is rare for a federal court addressing the United States government, particularly in a matter of presidential authority.

Luttig said the government's actions created the appearance "that the government may be attempting to avoid" Supreme Court review in a matter of "especial national importance." He also suggested that the government's actions in the Padilla case may possibly have had negative consequences for "the public perception of the war on terror" and "also for the government's credibility before the courts in litigation ancillary to that war.

full story

Preparing to shift the blame - again

2005-12-21T15:38:00.000-05:00

I have gotten pretty good at reading Republicans and I want to point out something I have noticed in the past few days that you may have not. Dick Cheney and the gang are preparing for the next terrorists attack by getting ready to claim helplessness. That is to say that the Bush Administration will not take responsibility for our security. They will blame others when things go wrong.

Of course that is how they have won elections and how they have governed. It is only getting worse. If/when we are hit again, the Bush administration will duck responsibility and shamelessly blame "liberals" "Democrats" and of course the media for the attack.

They are setting the foundation now. If you look closely you can already seem them doing it. You can see it in the arguments by Alberto Gonzales for the Patriot Act (that If it expires just one day we cannot guarantee safety) the Cheney boasts (that it is the secret actions that have prevented attacks ) and now with the spying revelation. Already Republicans -Peter Hoekstra to name just one- has said that terrorists are now instantly more dangerous since the wiretapping revelation (that the NY Times story has made us unsafe and we are at peril today where we were not last week before the story came out).

Of course we have to believe that Terrorists had no idea their calls could be tapped. Idiotic. And if the Patriot Act is so crucial why are the Red now opposing an extension while details of improvement are hammered out. I would suggest that it is because they WANT an excuse when things go wrong. (UPDATE11pm NYTimes: "The law known as the USA Patriot Act would be extended six months under an accord by Congressional leaders announced Wednesday night, a move that potentially resolves an impasse over the law that the Bush administration says is crucial to the fight against terrorism."

The Reds seems to be saying "If only Bush and Cheney could have a government without any opposition they could guarantee our safety but those dang lefties stopped us. Sorry, we tried but they wouldn't let us protect you". Listen closely to Administration officials right now and see that I'm right.

And mark my words- they will use this political strategy after another attack . Just as they tried to blame Clinton for 9-11 they will strongly blame those of us who dared to criticize them and insert some checks on their lust for power, for the next terrorist attack. The Administration will never take the blame for anything! They never feel they can do anything. That's why it is so important for critics to speak out now to prepare to defend ourselves from the blame game that inevitably will come our way when their mistakes come back to haunt us.

Fact: Spying was domestic

2005-12-21T08:15:00.000-05:00

One of the series of weak arguments being given to defended the spying by Bush is that it was "only international" calls. Much like the argument that "everybody does it" it turns out to be, well, untrue. The spying was, in fact, used on domestic calls, those starting in America, ending in America and made by Americans. While our Red friends are going through denial right now, they will have to eventually acknowledge that the secret activity by the Bush administration is unique in it's intrusion into our rights. If some want to give those up, fine - just say so. But don't try to confuse the issue with false choices and untrue arguments. It is not a choice of "freedom" or "security". Those wiretaps could have been done legally, if only Bush had gotten permission either before or, in the case of extreme urgency, after the eavesdropping occurred. Instead, he decided to just do it without following the law. A President can't do that. Even a great Republican Christian President like George W. Bush.

It was only used on International Calls? Untrue.
A surveillance program approved by President Bush to conduct eavesdropping without warrants has captured what are purely domestic communications in some cases, despite a requirement by the White House that one end of the intercepted conversations take place on foreign soil, officials say.
The officials say the National Security Agency's interception of a small number of communications between people within the United States was apparently accidental, and was caused by technical glitches at the National Security Agency in determining
whether a communication was in fact "international." Telecommunications experts say the issue points up troubling logistical questions about the program.
Everybody did it? No.
Think Progress does a quick and painless job of eviscerating the myth. Take a closer look and put this lie to rest. Yes, both Clinton and Carter issued executive orders pertaining to foreign intelligence surveillance. But neither of these even remotely authorized warrantless searches of American citizens, as Bush's order does.

Wrong to say it?

2005-12-20T17:57:00.000-05:00

The

"I"

Word

There has been some serious talk about the possibility of Impeachment if it is determined that George W. Bush broke the law by secretly instituting a domestic spying program. I have heard some on the right say that this is just payback for Clinton. Actually, I feel less enthusiastic about Impeaching Bush because of the Clinton fiasco. The bar was lowered so much that Impeachment lost it's seriousness. I feel that what Bush may have done is as serious as Watergate which was significantly worse than Monica-gate. If we get to a point where it is proven beyond a doubt that George W. Bush committed an impeachable offense, even those of us reluctant to use the 'I' word will have to demand that Congress do it's constitutional duty.

First day of the subway strike

2005-12-20T17:51:00.000-05:00

I had a feeling the strike would happen. The staff seemed unhappy and angry. Over the past couple week trains have been slowing mysteriously, stopping and having to make extra stops. I think it was part of a work slowdown. One night, three big guys, MTA overnight tunnel staff, burst into a car. They had tools - bars, hammers and posts - oddly intimidating all. They had pro-strike buttons and seemed to be checking for attitude. Last Thursday, hours before the strike first was scheduled, drivers would honk their horns at each other - something they never do. They are angry and want to be heard. It's going to cost them dearly though, 1 million a day Hopefully it will be short because from what I hear from people in the city today, it's a mess. They seemed to have some public support for this strike yesterday, but tomorrow may be a different story.

Fortunately, I did not have to fight with the millions of other struggling to get to and from work today. When I was out in my neighborhoods I saw so many more cars on the road but few pedestrians. There was open hitchhiking and everyone a bit in a daze. I am just about 10 blocks from a big station where they were having MTA employee demonstrations. I sat next to one at breakfast who was on a break from picketing. He was selling it but I couldn't tell how many were buying. I was on the subway last night and the ticket person behind the glass was giving a speech to the groups of questioners. Most wished her luck but Harlem is polite - like the south, and people in the community stick together. So while we may not hate the neighbors for going on strike New Yorkers may end up turning against the Union and the leaders. They'll have plenty of time to think about as they walk to work.

GUEST BLOGGER: kos

2005-12-20T13:51:00.000-05:00

Bush is a LIAR
by kos
Tue Dec 20, 2005 at 01:24:39 PM EST

Jesus, he lied straight to our faces.
George W. Bush, in Buffalo, NY, on April 20, 2004, at 9:49 a.m., talking about the USA Patriot Act:

"Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about
wiretap, it requires -- a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed,
by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking
about getting a court order before we do so. It's important for our fellow
citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees
are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland,
because we value the Constitution".

Update: Lots more lies here.

Ironically, the Bush defense of the Patriot Act -- that the law was perfectly within the bounds of the Constitution because it required judicial approval for federal wiretaps -- undermines assertions that his judicially unsanctioned spying was legal.

Update: Howard Dean's statement:

"The Bush Administration's secret program to spy on the
American people reminds Americans of the abuse of power during the dark days of
President Nixon and Vice President Agnew. Why is it that President Bush went in
front of the American people and said that a wiretap 'requires a court order,'
after having approved a wiretap program without a court order two years earlier?
It's time for the President to tell the truth. Americans deserve real
answers."

Discuss (64 comments, 64 new)

The FBI also has secret domestic spying program revealed

2005-12-20T12:03:00.000-05:00

WASHINGTON Counterterrorism agents at the FBI have conducted numerous surveillance and intelligence-gathering operations that involved, at least indirectly, groups active in causes as diverse as the environment, animal cruelty and poverty relief, newly disclosed agency records show.
FBI officials said Monday that their investigators had no interest in monitoring political or social activities and that any investigations that touched on advocacy groups were driven by evidence of criminal or violent activity.

2005-12-20T07:26:00.000-05:00

New York City Subways and buses are quiet today as the city is hit by a transit strike

I am just waking up and learning for sure that the subways are not running. That means I will be working from home and even blogging today! So check back a few times. I hope to have more on the strike and all the other news going on.

Big? Maybe the biggest.

2005-12-19T20:00:00.000-05:00

I haven't really blogged much about the domestic spying revelation but not because I think it is unimportant. Actually the magnitude of it all has me with too many words to say - not too few. This is a crucial point in American history. It's huge and I am just waiting to see if anything comes of it. The future of this country will be determined, in large part, to the nations answer to the following question:

Do you believe that a President has the right to secretly spy on Americans?

It's all out in the open now. It's happened and Bush says he will keep doing it. That means, of course, that every American President from now on can and will have the authority to spy on Americans as they see fit. They alone will decide. Is that's ok? Well I certainly don't think so, and if the majority of Americans don't end up feeling the same way, then we truly have entered a 'Red America'. No joke, we will just hand all our freedom over to whoever sits in the White House. That's not United States of America. It sounds the old Soviet Union who these guys railed against for a generation.

Were they afraid of the Reds? Or were they just jealous?

....much more to come

'72 Dolphins Remain the Greatest

2005-12-18T16:22:00.000-05:00

San Diego ended the Indianapolis Colts' bid for perfection Sunday, winning 26-17. That left the Colts 13-1 with two weeks to go in the regular season.And that means the Miami Dolphins' 17-0 record in 1972 will remain unmatched for at least another year.Shula and '72 quarterback Bob Griese watched the Chargers-Colts game on TV from a suite at Dolphins Stadium, where they attended Miami's game against the New York Jets.

Griese and a couple of his '72 teammates have been known to pop champagne when the last unbeaten NFL team loses, feeding an image of an annual celebration that has become a sore point for the old Dolphins."We're depicted as being happy about somebody's misfortune," Shula said.So while Shula acknowledged cheering for the Chargers, several '72 Dolphins claimed mixed feelings about the Colts' loss.

"If they had been able to go undefeated, then we could have someone to talk to who would understand the experience," former running back Mercury Morris said. "It's like trying to describe to someone what it's like to walk on the moon. It's only a description -- they'll never know until they go."

Angry Bush Vows to Continue Domestic Spying

2005-12-17T11:43:00.000-05:00

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush said Saturday he has no intention of stopping his personal authorizations of a post-Sept. 11 secret eavesdropping program in the U.S., lashing out at those involved in revealing it while defending it as crucial to preventing future attacks.
''This is a highly classified program that is crucial to our national security,'' he said in a radio address delivered live from the White House's Roosevelt Room.
''This authorization is a vital tool in our war against the terrorists. It is critical to saving American lives. The American people expect me to do everything in my power, under our laws and Constitution, to protect them and their civil liberties and that is exactly what I will continue to do as long as I am president of the United States,'' Bush said.
Angry members of Congress have demanded an explanation of the program, first revealed in Friday's New York Times and whether the monitoring by the National Security Agency without obtaining warrants from a court violates civil liberties. One Democrat said in response to Bush's remarks on the radio that Bush was acting more like a king than the elected president of a democracy.
Bush said the program was narrowly designed and used ''consistent with U.S. law and the Constitution.'' He said it is used only to intercept the international communications of people inside the United States who have been determined to have ''a clear link'' to al-Qaida or related terrorist organizations.
The program is reviewed every 45 days, using fresh threat assessments, legal reviews by the Justice Department, White House counsel and others, and information from previous activities under the program, the president said.
Without identifying specific lawmakers, Bush said congressional leaders have been briefed more than a dozen times on the program's activities.
The president also said the intelligence officials involved in the monitoring receive extensive training to make sure civil liberties are not violated.
Appearing angry at points during his eight-minute address, Bush said he had reauthorized the program more than 30 times since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and plans to continue doing so.
''I intend to do so for as long as our nation faces a continuing threat from al-Qaida and related groups,'' he said.
The president contended the program has helped ''detect and prevent possible terrorist attacks in the U.S. and abroad,'' but did not provide specific examples.
He said it is designed in part to fix problems raised by the Sept. 11 commission, which found that two of the suicide hijackers were communicating from San Diego with al-Qaida operatives overseas.
''The activities I have authorized make it more likely that killers like these 9-11 hijackers will be identified and located in time,'' he said.
In an effort by the administration that appeared coordinated to stem criticism, Bush's remarks echoed -- in many cases word-for-word -- those issued Friday night by a senior intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The president's highly unusual discussion of classified activities showed the sensitive nature of the program, whose existence was revealed as Congress was trying to renew the terrorism-fighting Patriot Act and complicated that effort, a top priority of Bush's.
Senate Democrats joined with a handful of Republicans on Friday to stall the bill. Those opposing the renewal of key provisions of the act that are expiring say they threaten constitutional liberties.
Reacting to Bush's defense of the NSA program, Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., said the president's remarks were ''breathtaking in how extreme they were.''
Feingold said it was ''absurd'' that Bush said he relied on his inherent power as president to authorize the wiretaps.
''If that's true, he doesn't need the Patriot Act because he can just make it up as he goes along. I tell you, he's President George Bush, not King George Bush. This is not the system of government we have and that we fought for,'' Feingold told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
The president had harsh words for those who talked about the program to the media, saying their actions were illegal and improper.
''As a result, our enemies have learned information they should not have,'' he said. ''The unauthorized disclosure of this effort damages our national security and puts our citizens at risk.''

RED EYES PRY IN AMERICA

2005-12-16T16:40:00.000-05:00

Bush Authorizes Homeland Spying

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 - Months after the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence of terrorist activity without the court-approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying, according to government officials.
Under a presidential order signed in 2002, the intelligence agency has monitored the international telephone calls and international e-mail messages of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people inside the United States without warrants over the past three years in an effort to track possible "dirty numbers" linked to Al Qaeda, the officials said. The agency, they said, still seeks warrants to monitor entirely domestic communications.
The previously undisclosed decision to permit some eavesdropping inside the country without court approval was a major shift in American intelligence-gathering practices, particularly for the National Security Agency, whose mission is to spy on communications abroad. As a result, some officials familiar with the continuing operation have questioned whether the surveillance has stretched, if not crossed, constitutional limits on legal searches.
"This is really a sea change," said a former senior official who specializes in national security law. "It's almost a mainstay of this country that the N.S.A. only does foreign searches."
(NYTimes)

NYC Subway Strike just hours away

2005-12-15T08:20:00.000-05:00

With a contract deadline just after midnight tonight, representatives of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the transit workers' union met intermittently yesterday to stave off a strike as the agency's top negotiator warned that "we are not in a good place."
Although there was some small movement yesterday on the key issue of wages, the negotiator, Gary J. Dellaverson, said: "We should be closer now. There should be more progress, and I can't stand here and say that I'm comfortable with the negotiations where they stand at this instant."
Then he added, "I still remain hopeful."
He spoke just moments after Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced a comprehensive emergency plan to contend with a walkout. The plan would increase ferry service, restrict entry to much of Manhattan to high-occupancy vehicles, clear several major thoroughfares including Fifth Avenue of nearly all traffic but buses and emergency vehicles, and allow groups of riders to haggle with cabbies.

US now accused of cover up attempt after disclosure of illegal detainees in media

2005-12-13T22:52:00.000-05:00

PARIS - A European investigator said Tuesday he has found mounting indications the United States illegally held detainees in Europe but then hurriedly shipped out the last ones to North Africa a month ago when word leaked out.
Dick Marty, a Swiss senator looking into claims the CIA operated secret prisons in Europe, said an ongoing, monthlong investigation unearthed "clues" that Poland and Romania were implicated — perhaps unwittingly.
Both countries have denied any involvement and Marty said he believes no prisoners are now being held by the U.S. in Europe. The CIA declined to comment.
"To my knowledge, those detainees were moved about a month ago, maybe a little more," he told reporters after briefing the legal committee of the Council of Europe, a human rights watchdog, on his findings. "They were moved to North Africa."

Sounds of the Holidays cause distress in Brooklyn

2005-12-13T15:49:00.000-05:00

I work in the Flatbush area of Brooklyn and am very familiar with this item in the local news. As a recovering Grinch I found it amusing to learn of locals complaining about the Christmas music being blasted from the street speakers. I am glad I work far enough away not to have to hear it but I can tell you from my shopping there it is VERY, VERY loud! So loud in fact I assumed that it was designed not so much to get people in the Holiday mood, but to prevent loitering in the area. Yes you can walk by, visit shops and go along your Merry way without too much annoyance or ear damage. But if you were to linger anywhere near the speakers you would be driven mad or deaf.

from the NY Post

All some Brooklyn residents want for Christmas is some peace and quiet! The Flatbush Business Improvement District put up a series of speakers along Flatbush Avenue to spread holiday cheer — but some people complain the Christmas tunes are earsplitting. "It's annoying. Tell them to shut it off," said a police officer walking his beat. "It's so loud we can't even hear our radios." The speakers play a loop of songs, including "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" and "Come All Ye Faithful" each day. "That f - - - ing music is annoying," said Dayshawn Collins, 17. "Someone ought to break those things."

Baby, it's cold outside!

2005-12-13T15:12:00.000-05:00

Man it is cold today and more sub freezing temperatures are on the way. It was in the teens when I woke up with the "feels like" temp in the single digits. But (they say) at least it is sunny!

The snow that fell last week is now white blocks of ice shoved in corners and street medians. That which was NOT shoveled off sidewalks at the time has turned into invisible sheets of ice ready to trip up any unsuspecting pedestrian. Now I know why it is the law to shovel right away.

Today I am wearing two turtlenecks, a hoodie, coat, ear goggles (love those things), and a ski hat. Not only is it quite comfortable, but if I should slip on the ice I doubt I would feel a thing because of all the extra padding.

current NYC weather

Supreme Court to review GOP power grab

2005-12-12T12:29:00.000-05:00

Not that we can hold out much hope in Red America, but at least the Supreme Court has agreed to look at this important case. You may recall how Tom DeLay strongarmed a redistricting of Texas to give more Republicans seats in Congress and all but guarantee GOP control of America. He even called Homeland security to scramble aircraft in order to chase down Democratic law makers who fought this blatant power grab. Today the Supreme Court has announced that they will look into the case to determine it's legality. While Republican appointees on the Court tend to be partisans, they is still hope (always hope) that justice will prevail.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court said Monday it would consider the constitutionality of a Texas congressional map engineered by Rep. Tom DeLay that helped Republicans gain seats in Congress. The 2003 boundaries helped Republicans win 21 of the state's 32 seats in Congress in the last election-- up from 15. They were approved amid a nasty battle between Republican leaders and Democrats and minority groups in Texas.
The contentiousness also reached Washington, where the Justice Department approved the plan although staff lawyers concluded that it diluted minority voting rights. Because of past discrimination against minority voters, Texas is required to get Justice Department approval for any voting changes to ensure they don't undercut minority voting. Justices will consider a constitutional challenge to the boundaries filed by various opponents. The alleged scheme was part of a plan Tom DeLay and others set in motion to help Republicans win control of the Texas House in 2002 elections. The Republican Legislature then adopted a DeLay-backed congressional voting district map.
DeLay was later rebuked by the House Ethics Committee for using the Federal Aviation Administration to track down a private plane that shuttled some Democratic lawmakers out of the state.

2005-12-10T19:22:00.000-05:00

911 Commission Report Card shows poor grades

2005-12-10T11:42:00.000-05:00

Final Commission Report Details Deficiencies

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

On December 5, 2005, the 9/11 Commission, composed of four Republicans and four Democrats, issued its final report, accompanied by a summarized report card, on the status federal government implementation of its 41 basic recommendations to deter another catastrophic attack on the US homeland.

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

Homeland Security and Emergency Response
-- Radio Spectrum for first responders -- F (C+ if pending legislation passes)
-- Incident Command System -- C
-- Risk-based allocation of homeland security funds -- F (A if pending legislation passes)
-- Critical infrastructure assessment -- D
-- Private sector preparedness -- C
-- National Strategy for Transportation Security -- C-
-- Airline passenger pre-screening -- F
-- Airline passenger explosive screening -- C
-- Checked bag and cargo screening -- D
-- Terrorist travel strategy -- I
-- Comprehensive screening system -- C
-- Biometric entry-exit screening system -- B
-- International collaboration on borders and document security -- [ B
-- Standardize secure identifications -- B-
Intelligence and Congressional Reform
-- Director of National Intelligence -- B
-- National Counterterrorism Center -- B
-- FBI national security workforce -- C
-- New missions for CIA Director -- I
-- Incentives for information sharing -- D
-- Government-wide information sharing -- D
-- Northern Command planning for homeland defense -- B-
-- Full debate on PATRIOT ACT -- B
-- Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Boards -- D
-- Guidelines for government-sharing of personal information -- D
-- Intelligence oversight reform -- D
-- Homeland Security Committees -- B
-- Unclassified top-line intelligence budget -- F
-- Security clearance reform -- B
Foreign Policy and Nonproliferation
-- Maximum effort to prevent terrorists from acquiring WMD -- D
-- Afghanistan -- B
-- Pakistan -- C+
-- Saudi Arabia -- D
-- Terrorist sanctuaries -- B
-- Coalition strategy against Islamist terrorism -- C
-- Coalition detention standards -- F
-- Economic policies -- B+
-- Terrorist financing -- A-
-- Clear US message abroad -- C
-- International broadcasting -- B
-- Scholarship, exchange, and library programs -- D
-- Secular education in Muslin countries -- D

This is how they "respect our military"

2005-12-10T11:00:00.000-05:00

Dead heroes are supposed to come home with their coffins draped with the American flag -- greeted by a color guard.
But in reality, many are arriving as freight on commercial airliners -- stuffed in the belly of a plane with suitcases and other cargo. John Holley and his wife, Stacey, were stunned when they found out the body of their only child, Matthew, who died in Iraq, would be arriving at Lindbergh Field as freight.

2005-12-09T15:06:00.000-05:00

Snowy Day in New York City

2005-12-09T01:49:00.000-05:00

FORECAST:Heavy snow will cause travel problems by morning rush hour in southern New York, including New York City.
Lows from near 0 in northern New Hampshire to the upper 20s on Long Island. A snowy day for much of the region Friday. Over 6 inches will accumulate in parts of southeastern New York and central New England with amounts decreasing to the north. The snow will mix with or change to rain along the coast, resulting in lower accumulations there as well.

Is this why they support torture?

2005-12-09T01:24:00.001-05:00

By DOUGLAS JEHL
WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 -The Bush administration based a crucial prewar assertion about ties betweenIraq and Al Qaeda on detailed statements made by a prisoner while in Egyptian custody who later said he had fabricated them to escape harsh treatment, according to current and former government officials.
The officials said the captive, Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi, provided his most specific and elaborate accounts about ties between Iraq and Al Qaeda only after he was secretly handed over to Egypt by the United States in January 2002, in a process known as rendition.
The new disclosure provides the first public evidence that bad intelligence on Iraq may have resulted partly from the administration's
heavy reliance on third countries to carry out interrogations of Qaeda members and others detained as part of American counterterrorism efforts. The Bush administration used Mr. Libi's accounts as the basis for its prewar claims, now discredited, that ties between Iraq and Al Qaeda included training in explosives and chemical weapons.
The fact that Mr. Libi recanted after the American invasion of Iraq and that intelligence based on his remarks was withdrawn by the C.I.A. in March 2004 has been public for more than a year. But American officials had not previously acknowledged either that Mr. Libi made the false statements in foreign custody or that Mr. Libi contended that his
statements had been coerced.

25 YEARS LATER

2005-12-08T12:15:00.000-05:00

Bush administration says it will 'flip flop' on detainee policy

2005-12-07T10:49:00.000-05:00

KIEV (Reuters) - The United States, seeking to defuse criticism of reports of abuse of prisoners, has changed its policy on interrogating detainees, officials said on Wednesday, but human rights groups were skeptical there was a real shift.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza on a trip to Ukraine, said U.S. personnel would be banned worldwide from subjecting prisoners to cruelty.

But London-based Amnesty International said Rice's remarks were "not a major concession." It still wanted serious action by Washington over what it called cases of torture in U.S. bases.

Las Vegas residents furious over changes in airport flight path changes

2005-12-06T16:00:00.000-05:00

As many as 125 flights per day could be flying over a wide swath of the west Las Vegas Valley and downtown under a proposal to change the flight path out of McCarran International Airport under consideration by the Federal Aviation Administration.

click on map to see full sized view

Guest Blog : "From My Side of the Room"

2005-12-06T15:24:00.000-05:00

WHO'S COUNTING?

Two thousand plus killed in Iraq. Eighty killed in November. Killed in Iraq! How many of the wounded sent to hospitals in Germany: England: France: The United States and elsewhere have died from wounds suffered in Iraq? Who's counting? Someone should be but they are not telling the American People and we know that they wouldn't lie to us, right! The media must and should be asking for these figures but then again. Who's Counting?

How many Service personnel are there who will have permanent mental and physical disabilities? The media should be asking. Who's Counting? The President and his staff told us stories like the rescue of Jessica. A heavily armed team breaking into a hospital for the rescue. In reality, an Iraq doctor realizes the hospital he works in has a wounded soldier. He notifies the American Embassy then leads them to her. The hospital releases her to the military. There we no enemy troops holding her hostage. Where is she now and what is her story Where is the media now. Another story not covered. Who's Counting.The Tillman story. Killed in action engaging the enemy. The poor parents, so used by the Military, The NFL using The fallen serviceman. American people believing "a story". Then the truth comes out. Killed by "Friendly Fire" there is no such thing as friendly fire. I have never seen anyone being friendly while firing at some one else. Have you? Where was the apology that should have come from these lies? Like so many other things. Who's Counting?

The media should be covering stories on wounded personnel being rehabilitated. The physical therapy the maimed must be taught. The cries of pain, the tears of being afraid of the future. How to use artificial limbs to walk or hold on to a loved one. To speak again and be able to say I love you to a dear one. Knowing now that you must use someone else's eyes to see the world that is now dark for you.. Showing flag draped coffins that represents a person. That person had family but I guess nobody cares. Who's Counting?. Brave young men and women who believed that they were right, who believed the lies who are great Americans.Not supporting the war is not saying that we don't support our troops, we do. We just want our government to tell us the truth. The media should be asking for the truth and reporting it. How many times must we ask. Who's Counting?

Only twenty three suicide attacks in Iraq in November. Only twenty three. How many car bombings did we have before Re-patriarchs? Who's Counting? The media should be.Fox network reported that we are winning the war. Two Thousand plus KILLED FOR OIL and spite. I'm better than you Daddy! Winning the war? I think it's called sacrificing innocent people, ours and theirs. We have become occupiers, not Liberators. That's what I see FROM MY SIDE OF THE ROOM

NYC Update

2005-12-06T08:32:00.000-05:00

SNOW IN HARLEM

Well the snow has fallen both Sunday night and Monday night. As I type this there is about 2 inches of the the white stuff on the ground here in Harlem. Last night in Brooklyn, where I work, it began snowing about 7pm. Everyone thought it was quite amusing to see me get excited about it.

Over the weekend I decided to order home delivery of the New York Times. I always imagined going downstairs from my New York apartment and getting the Times from my snow covered stoop. Well all the pieces are in place - except the paper. For the second morning in a row it has not arrived. They called me yesterday to check on it and said they would find out why it didn't get here. I guess I will have the same conversation today.

Dressing in the cold weather is also proving to be a learning experience. The other day I had a long sleeved shirt, sweater, scarf and heavy coat and was still cold. The wind went right through it all! So the next day I added a hoody and was just fine. The hood is also an effective devise to keep falling snow out of the hair.

And hatwear in the winter is a another topic. I could wear a stocking cap outside all the time, they are comfortable, warm and look pretty good. But when it comes time to work inside it is too hot. If I wear a stocking cap for any lenghth of time I get a horrible case of "hat head". There is no removing it once it goes on. So while the stocking caps are perfect a lot of the times, what about when I need to go topless afterward?

First I tried these wraparound things. They are like a thick headband that cover your forehead, ears (important) without messing up the hair. Those are good. Another devise I found is my favorite right now. They are ear muffs that cover the ears and wrap around the back of the neck. I saw everyone wearing them Saturday and was mystified. What were these things people had on and did they really help against the cold. Person after person were wearing them but I could not find them in any store! Finally Sarah tld me that if everyone has something here it means they got it from street vendors. Sure enough the next street vendor did have them and for $4 I got myself a pair. They keep the ears warm, don't mess up the hair and I even convinced Sarah (for about a half hour) that they block out sounds (she's a talker!). In truth they do muffle the sound a bit. Best of all even though if only one person wore one it would look stupid, when millions do they look fine.

Dolphins win in final seconds!

2005-12-05T00:04:00.000-05:00

MIAMI (AP) -- Even in the late-afternoon shadows covering the end zone, Chris
Chambers was easy to spot, leaping to make the reception that capped the best day of his NFL career and the Miami Dolphins' biggest comeback victory since 1974.

Chambers caught a lobbed 4-yard pass from Sage Rosenfels on fourth down with six seconds left, the last of three touchdowns Miami scored in the final 11:35 Sunday to beat the Buffalo Bills 24-23.

2005-12-04T00:37:00.000-05:00

Happy Sunday!
I am writing this very early Sunday morning. When I wake up it will be snowing. The first snow of the year. I wouldn't be surprised to come to hate snow by the end of winter, but the first time here in New York I will enjoy! Sunday is my "Monday" as far as works goes but with two days just off and the promise of snow overnight, I feel as if tomorrow will be a good day. I hope for you too.

2005-12-03T20:34:00.000-05:00

Cloudless at 7:23pm, but expected to snow by morning.

Live Loop

UPDATE: 10am - About 1 inch of snow here. Probably more in Brooklyn where I am rushing off to for work. Pretty cool! Photos later.....

Arnold tries to ride - the surging Blue Tide

2005-12-01T12:12:00.000-05:00

I have been so busy with the new job and I know the blog has been getting the short end of the stick. I have very little free time right now but I think things will settle in over the next week or two. I will still post daily and even a few times a day when possible.

I am still feeling optimistic that Americans are beginning to loose faith in Republicans and conservative policies. I have always believed it was a movement based on false logic and twisted facts. It seems that more and more people are agreeing with me.

Even Arnold! Oh he jumped on the apparent Republican bandwagon in the 1980's perhaps knowing that experience, intelligence and competence was unimportant to gaining Red support. But oh how he is shifting gears. After his humiliating losses in November and his slide in the polls, Governor Schwarzeneggar is now taking a sharp turn to the left. Not only is his new Chief of Staff a Democrat, she was close to Grey Davis who Arnold ridiculed during the Recall vote. To top it off she is a lesbian "married" to her partner!

This transparent attempt to jump from one bandwagon to another shows me that this "outsider" is turning out to quite a politician after all.

SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) -
California's Republican Gov. Arnold named a Democrat in a same-sex marriage as his chief of staff on Wednesday in an apparent political shift on the heels of a major electoral defeat.

Susan Kennedy, 45, was the confidant and number two to ousted Democratic Gov. Gray Davis whom Schwarzenegger beat in a bitter recall election in 2003. She married her lesbian
partner in 1999.

The appointment of a woman who once served as the California Democratic Party executive director and has led campaigns for abortion rights angered some Republicans."The appointment of Susan Kennedy as chief of staff to the governor is a betrayal of the hard-working activists that supported the governor during the recent special election," said Mike Spence, president of the California Republican Assembly.

Another opponent immediately set up a Web site www.stopsusankennedy.com where visitors were urged to sign a petition seeking to rescind the appointment.

Happy Birthday Dad!

2005-12-01T09:46:00.000-05:00

I love you Dad. Have a great birthday.