For anything? Ever?

The lies and coverup continues. Just a few pellets in the face? Well no, there’s a pellet in his heart, that’s why he had a heart attack. Pellets in his shoulder, neck too. Sounds like Cheney nearly killed him.

A normal human capable of actual feeling and compassion would have said something publicly by now. But not Cheney. He’s still stonewalling. Yuck.

Firedoglake is running a series of excellent investigative pieces including several by ReddHead (a former prosecutor) who demonstrates how Cheney’s story is full of holes.

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“Good news, ladies and gentlemen, we have finally located weapons of mass destruction: It’s Dick Cheney.” —David Letterman

“Now, this story certainly has its humorous aspects. … But it also raises a serious issue, one which I feel very strongly about. … moms, dads, if you’re watching right now, I can’t emphasize this enough: Do not let your kids go on hunting trips with the vice president. I don’t care what kind of lucrative contracts they’re trying to land, or energy regulations they’re trying to get lifted - it’s just not worth it.” –Jon Stewart

“But all kidding aside, and in fairness to Dick Cheney, every five years he has to shed innocent blood or he violates his deal with the devil.” —Jimmy Kimmel

(From politicalhumor.about.com, they have much more on the Cheney shooting)

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The United States and Israel are discussing ways to destabilize the Palestinian government so that newly elected Hamas officials will fail and elections will be called again, according to Israeli officials and Western diplomats.

Lefti on the News comments:

This is hardly surprising, and barely news, but you just have to love how openly they discuss their contempt for democracy.

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The Pentagon dismissed a United Nations report on Monday that criticized the United States for the conditions and treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

The U.N. draft report, which has not yet been officially released, called for the prison to be closed, citing torture acts and prolonged solitary confinement.

It was precisely this kind of maltreatment that was one of the pretend reasons the neocons used to justify invading Iraq. Y’know, the US was there to stop the evildoers, prevent torture, etc. Now the US openly admits to torture and cares not if anyone complains. Just a pack of amoral thugs, aren’t they? When they aren’t invading countries based on lies and torturing noncombatants, they shoot friends in the face, lie about it, then blame the friend. Makes me proud to be an American.

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Three former associates of Jack Abramoff said Monday that the now-disgraced lobbyist frequently told them during his lobbying work he had strong ties to the White House through presidential confidant Karl Rove.

Why did these anonymous “associates” leak this now? Maybe Abramoff, tiring of being slimed by the White House, has decided if I go down, others will fall with me.

Of course, if this den of neocon slime succeeds in destroying each other, the country will be a happier, better place, so let’s encoourage them to do so.

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A new fight is brewing over the future of communications in the United States. It pits the nation’s largest cable and telephone companies against those who believe the Internet should support the free and independent flow of ideas.

Broadband is the battleground. As more Americans upgrade to high-speed Internet connections, the companies that control the “pipes” are plotting out new ways to profit from the demand. The telco and cable giants want to fence off the Internet: one area for the haves — who will pay a premium to enjoy life in the fast lane — and the other for the have-nots.

The innovation and creativity of the Internet are the result of its foundation as an open roadway. At serious risk is the idea of “network neutrality” — a guiding principle of the Internet that ensures all users can access the content or run the applications and devices of their choice. Corporate greed threatens to bring the Internet’s promise of advanced communications for all to a screeching halt.

The telcos want to end network neutrality forever. Then charge whatever larcenous rates they can get away with for top tier service. Everyone else will get reduced service, both in terms of bandwidth and also access. This, among other things, would kill podcasting and videocasting for the smaller players. Blogs may or may not be able to get through. Maybe they’ll refuse access to blogs whose politics they don’t like.

These big companies want the Internet as their private playpen. You want in, you pay - a lot. This is not the free market, this is corporate greed aided and abetted by the government, specifically Michael Powell, who killed network neutrality while head of the FCC. In a real free market, everyone gets to play, everyone is equal. That’s what network neutrality means. But now it’s gone.

Unless you want the Internet fenced in with toll booths everywhere, now is the time to mobilize. FreePress.net has the details.

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Sue has just stepped out on her own and now has a long-term contract doing forensic audits on insurance claims arising from the hurricane disasters. After a bit, she’ll be able to do much of the work at home, but for now it entails going to downtown L.A. This 20 mile drive can easily take an hour each way, however now we have real mass transit in the San Fernando Valley, as a dedicated busway takes passengers to the subway in N. Hollywood, and from there to downtown. It may still take an hour, however it’s all on new clean mass transit for $3 a day and no freeway stress.

This city needs much more mass transit, especially to the terminally traffic-clogged Westside. Freeway traffic is clogged everywhere in LA, however even surface street traffic is problematic on the Westside.

Forensic auditors look for discrepancies in financial reporting. If you say your business was destroyed by Katrina and was worth a million, yet records show you only billed $20,000 last year, well, this won’t get past a forensic accountant. This is an over simplified example, real cases are way more convoluted.

I’m been self-employed for twenty years, this is Sue’s second time out on her own. They say the contract will last several months - barring any more hurricanes, of course.

New Orleans ‘risks extinction’

Katrina response a ‘failure of leadership’

Global warming by the numbers

(Links via ViridianDesign.org listserv)

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