Only if he goes with Abramoff
Bob Morris @ Jan 17th 2006 12:08 - Category: Unfiled ;
Interesting isn’t it how even those sleazoids directly linked to Abramoff are doing everything they can to distance themselves from him.
Archive for January 17th, 2006
D.C. bungee trip
Bob Morris @ Jan 17th 2006 10:08 - Category: Unfiled ;
Our 60 hr. portal-to-portal-and-back trip to D.C. is over, we’re back in L.A., if a bit jet-lagged. Sue’s interview went well. We shall see if they make an offer and then decide if we accept.
A cousin who lives in D.C. drove us around. There were many buildings I’d seen pictures of and vaguely recognized. He has a vast knowledge of what they are, when they were built, and their history. "That building there is a coal plant that supplies power to several federal buildings, natural gas would have made much more sense, Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia forced that through, you can see the train tracks where the coal is brought in." This in downtown D.C.!
What I finally realized about the heart of D.C. that makes it different from other cities, is that there is no commercial core. It’s all governmental, non-profits, foundations, etc.
They also have real public transportation there. The Metro, buses, etc. My cousin sometimes parks his car for two weeks at a time because he has no need to drive.
D.C. license plates now say "Taxation without representation." This is not a vanity plate, this is not a license plate frame, this is printed directly on them the same way many states print a motto on their plates.
Socialist torture victim wins in Chile
Bob Morris @ Jan 17th 2006 08:21 - Category: Imperialism ;
Tip via reader Daniel
A torture victim in the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship, a former defense minister and a medical doctor, socialist Michelle Bachelet parlayed her ability to connect with voters into becoming Chile’s first woman president.
Her father was tortured and killed by Pinochet thugs. Pinochet came to power when the US backed a vicious coup that overthrew their democratically elected President.
Someone should tell congressional Democrats that when you stand up and fight for what you believe in, sometimes you win big.
Al Gore’s speech
Bob Morris @ Jan 17th 2006 07:44 - Category: Government spying ;
Former Vice President Al Gore, charging that President Bush’s record on civil liberties posed a "grave danger" to America’s constitutional freedoms, on Monday urged the appointment of a special counsel to investigate Bush’s authorization of warrantless domestic surveillance by the National Security Agency.
In a detailed and impassioned speech sponsored by liberal and conservative groups, Gore said that although much remained unknown about the spying program, "what we do know … virtually compels the conclusion that the president of the United States has been breaking the law, repeatedly and insistently."
The Republicans responded with their usual slime attack. Democratic leadership sadly but predictably have done nothing to support Gore. I’ve not seen a single news report of a ranking Democrat standing by Gore and defending him on this, instead their reaction has been … crickets. Bush shreds liberties, a leading Democrat finally stands up and says this is wrong, and not one of his colleagues can watch his back?
What is wrong with Democratic leadership? Why aren’t they standing up too and fighting against these most obvious and serious of abuses?
PS. Gore mentioned the Tashkent telegrams. Democrats should be doing the same from the floors of Congress.
"The President has also claimed that he has the authority to kidnap individuals in foreign countries and deliver them for imprisonment and interrogation on our behalf by autocratic regimes in nations that are infamous for the cruelty of their techniques for torture.
Some of our traditional allies have been shocked by these new practices on the part of our nation. The British Ambassador to Uzbekistan - one of those nations with the worst reputations for torture in its prisons - registered a complaint to his home office about the senselessness and cruelty of the new U.S. practice: "This material is useless - we are selling our souls for dross. It is in fact positively harmful."
Dumb and dumber
Bob Morris @ Jan 17th 2006 07:40 - Category: Unfiled ;
Lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s October 23, 2000, e-mail to his business partner Michael Scanlon was, as usual, not subtle. "Would 10K for NRCC from Suncruz for Ney help?" Scanlon shot back: "Yes, alot [sic]! But would have to give them a definate [sic] answer–and they need it this week …"
I guess they thought no one could subpeona their email. Here’s a tip to those who may not know. Your email gets archived and saved in all sorts of places; at the ISP, on your servers, by those you sent it to, etc.
Email isn’t even slightly secure.
Sanctions work in both directions
Bob Morris @ Jan 17th 2006 07:40 - Category: Unfiled ;
Iran stepped up its defiance of international pressure over its nuclear programme yesterday by warning of soaring oil prices if it is subjected to economic sanctions.
