Drinking Liberally®

The Republican party has been treating taxpayer dollars and our national treasures; our land, forests, parks, as their own private slush fund. They sell us out to the highest bidder for their own power and enrichment. Many of the names below will be familiar, such as DeLay, from other scandals swirling around in the courts today. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. I found this at the www.thehill.com

Co-conspirators’ largesse extended to many
By Josephine Hearn

In the wake of former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham’s (R-Calif.) stunning resignation and tearful admission that he had accepted some $2.4 million in bribes Monday, many of his former colleagues are mulling what to do with tens of thousands of dollars they received in campaign contributions from Cunningham’s co-conspirators.

Cunningham, a former Navy pilot and eight-term lawmaker from the San Diego area, announced his resignation shortly after pleading guilty to conspiracy charges and tax evasion stemming from millions of dollars in bribes he accepted from defense contractors over five years.

In a plea agreement with prosecutors, Cunningham named four people who had conspired with him to commit the crimes. Although the plea agreement does not refer to the co-conspirators by name, they are widely believed to be Mitchell Wade, the former president of defense intelligence firm MZM Inc., Brent Wilkes, president of defense contractor ADCS Inc., Tom Kontogiannis, a New York real-estate developer, and an unnamed family member of Kontogiannis.

Wade and Wilkes gave heavily to congressional Republicans in recent years, and now lawmakers must decide whether to keep the campaign largesse.

Wade, Wilkes, Kontogiannis and others remain under investigation, according to a statement made by the lead federal prosecutor in the case, U.S. Attorney Carol Lam.

Congressional ethics experts predict that one or more of the co-conspirators would be charged, especially because Cunningham has agreed to continue to cooperate with the investigation.

“Given that they were both described as co-conspirators in the plea agreement and that the agreement calls for former Rep. Cunningham to cooperate in the investigation, it’s very likely that both Mitchell Wade and Brent Wilkes will be indicted,” said Brett Kappel, an ethics lawyer at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP.

Sen. Jim Talent (R-Mo.) has returned money from lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the center of another congressional ethics scandal, while Republican Reps. Jeb Bradley (N.H.), Kenny Hulshof (Mo.), Heather Wilson (N.M.) and Steve LaTourette (Ohio) gave back contributions from DeLay after he was indicted in September.

Republican Reps. Tom DeLay (Texas), John Doolittle (Calif.) and Jerry Lewis (Calif.) all received at least $30,000 in donations — either through their campaign committee or their leadership PACs — from Wade, Wilkes, their family members and their companies’ PACs over the past four years. These totals do not include individual contributions from employees of these firms. Early this year, Lewis became the chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. Before that, he headed the defense appropriations subcommittee. Because of these high-profile roles, Lewis often receives more donations than most House members. Doolittle also sits on the Appropriations Committee.

But Cunningham, who was simply a member of the defense appropriations subcommittee, received the most — at least $66,000 during the same period.

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, received just over $28,000, as did Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Va.). Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.) was the recipient of $20,000.

Wilkes is a prominent Bush fundraiser, earning a designation as a “Bush pioneer” in 2004 for raising more than $100,000. If Wilkes is indicted, he will be the third Bush pioneer, after Abramoff and Ohio fundraiser Tom Noe, to be indicted this year. [emphasis mine]

Wade resigned from MZM earlier this year. The company was sold to a private equity firm in August.

In light of the Cunningham’s recent revelations, congressional watchdogs suggested that lawmakers would be wise to get rid of the donations, either by refunding them or donating them to charity.

“It would be very, very appropriate, especially in a scandal that reeks like Cunningham’s, that anyone who was touched in any way give the money to charity,” said Craig Holman of the watchdog group Public Citizen. “There is no mandate that officeholders give back money even if the donor is indicted … but they should do it if they want to stand on strong ethical footing with the Cunningham scandal, where there is ample appearance of corruption.”

None of the lawmakers’ offices contacted by The Hill were prepared to give away the contributions yet.

“Mr. Lewis hasn’t had time to consider something like giving back the donations,” said Lewis spokesman Jim Specht. “As chairman of the subcommittee and later the full committee, he receives donations from at least dozens of donors.”

Specht went on to say Lewis had no memory of having met Wade.

“He has known Mr. Wilkes, though it has been some time since [Wilkes has] talked to him. He’s never talked to him about any defense project,” Specht said.

Jim Ellis, head of DeLay’s leadership PAC, Americans for a Republican Majority (ARMPAC), which received the DeLay donations, said it was too early to make a determination on what to do with the funds.

“We’ll see how it transpires and deal it with then,” he said. “It’s pure speculation at this point. It’s not something we’ve discussed.”

Ellis and two other ARMPAC officials were indicted on unrelated money-laundering charges earlier this year.

Chris Kennedy, a spokesman for Weller, said the donations likely stemmed from Weller’s support of the research-and-development tax credit, a tax benefit popular among a wide swath of technologically inclined manufacturing companies.

“While the situation with Congressman Cunningham is very dismaying, [Weller] acted with propriety in every phase of this,” Kennedy said. “The congressman never had any reason to suspect any impropriety.”

The issue of giving back the money “has not been discussed,” he added.

A spokesman for Hunter said the lawmaker was “tending to personal business with family” and unreachable. The House is in recess until next week.

Phone calls to Doolittle, Bonilla and Goode were not returned before press time.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that in 1998 Hunter joined Cunningham in pressing the Pentagon to put $9.77 million into a program benefiting Wilkes’ ADCS. Hunter has denied any wrongdoing in the matter.

Goode helped Wade’s MZM secure funding this year for the Foreign Supplier Assessment Center, a program based in Martinville, Va, which is located in Goode’s district, according to published reports. MZM held a fundraiser for Goode in March.

Congressional Campaign Contributions from
“Co-Conspirators”, 2001 – 2005*

NAME AMOUNT
Rep. Randy Cunningham (R-Calif.) $66,000
Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) $32,000
Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.) $30,000
Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) $30,000
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) $28,500
Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Va.) $28,250
Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.) $20,000
Rep. Henry Bonilla (R-Texas) $12,500
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) $11,250
Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) $10,000

* Contributions to congressional candidates and their leadership PACs from Mitchell Wade, Brent Wilkes, Tom Kontogiannis and their family members and PACs associated with MZM Inc. and ADCS Inc.

Source: Federal Election Commission reports, as compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics

Posted by vicki at 09:42 PM | Comments (3)

While our republican members of congress were busy giving themselves a $3,100 raise and tying up congress to humilate Rep. Murtha, they took a pass on legislation that would actually benefit their neediest constituents. But nevermind them, they don't donate to their war chests, so they are out of luck. The NY Times explains all.

As the Winter Looms

Published: November 29, 2005

Members of Congress left Washington before Thanksgiving and don't plan to return until mid-December. They took off without approving any money to help poor Americans pay their heating bills this winter. They failed to pass the bill that included $2 billion in home heating subsidies that they had agreed to allocate as long ago as last spring. They also failed to come up with the additional $3 billion that is needed to cover the big price jumps in various fuels since Hurricane Katrina.

On four separate occasions, a majority of senators voted in favor of more money for heating subsidies, but under the budget rules, passage required a supermajority, which could not be mustered. The House managed to ignore the issue almost entirely, except to "add" an extra billion dollars for heating subsidies to one bill by cutting a billion from other programs that help the poor. The intended recipients of federal heating subsidies include millions of low-income Americans who are old and disabled, as well as poor families with children. It is widely known that people who cannot afford heat often make trade-offs that risk their health or safety: deciding between heating or eating, between heat or medicine, between turning on the heat or resorting to oven flames or dangerous kerosene heaters.

President Bush punted on his opportunity to emphasize the need for more heating subsidies when he neglected to ask for the money in his latest hurricane-related emergency spending request. Congressional leaders have also failed to stress the issue, even as they have vowed to move heaven and earth to pass more tax cuts for investors - at a cost that far exceeds the cost of adequate heating aid.

There are at least two chances for Congress to act when it returns. The lawmakers can include $5 billion for subsidies in the coming spending bill for the Health and Human Services Department. Or they can add the money to the president's emergency spending request, even though he didn't ask for it.

Posted by vicki at 10:13 PM

This is just dreadful. Bu$hCo has totally lost control of the situation in Iraq. It just keeps getting worse and yet we have disgraceful fools like Joe Loserman telling us great things are going in Iraq. The Pulitzer prize winning journalis from the NY Times gives us the reality check.

Sunnis Accuse Iraqi Military of Kidnappings and Slayings

By DEXTER FILKINS
Published: November 29, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Nov. 28 - As the American military pushes the largely Shiite Iraqi security services into a larger role in combating the insurgency, evidence has begun to mount suggesting that the Iraqi forces are carrying out executions in predominantly Sunni neighborhoods.

The Reach of War

Hundreds of accounts of killings and abductions have emerged in recent weeks, most of them brought forward by Sunni civilians, who claim that their relatives have been taken away by Iraqi men in uniform without warrant or explanation.

Some Sunni men have been found dead in ditches and fields, with bullet holes in their temples, acid burns on their skin, and holes in their bodies apparently made by electric drills. Many have simply vanished.

Some of the young men have turned up alive in prison. In a secret bunker discovered earlier this month in an Interior Ministry building in Baghdad, American and Iraqi officials acknowledged that some of the mostly Sunni inmates appeared to have been tortured.

Bayan Jabr, the interior minister, and other government officials denied any government involvement, saying the killings were carried out by men driving stolen police cars and wearing police and army uniforms purchased at local markets. "Impossible! Impossible!" Mr. Jabr said. "That is totally wrong; it's only rumors; it is nonsense."

Many of the claims of killings and abductions have been substantiated by at least one human rights organization working here - which asked not to be identified because of safety concerns - and documented by Sunni leaders working in their communities.

American officials, who are overseeing the training of the Iraqi Army and the police, acknowledge that police officers and Iraqi soldiers, and the militias with which they are associated, may indeed be carrying out killings and abductions in Sunni communities, without direct American knowledge.

But they also say it is difficult, in an already murky guerrilla war, to determine exactly who is responsible. The American officials insisted on anonymity because they were working closely with the Iraqi government and did not want to criticize it publicly.

The widespread conviction among Sunnis that the Shiite-led government is bent on waging a campaign of terror against them is sending waves of fear through the community, just as Iraqi and American officials are trying to coax the Sunnis to take part in nationwide elections on Dec. 15.

Sunnis believe that the security forces are carrying out sectarian reprisals, in part to combat the insurgency, but also in revenge for years of repression at the hands of Saddam Hussein's government.

Ayad Allawi, a prominent Iraqi politician who is close to the Sunni community, charged in an interview published Sunday in The London Observer that the Iraqi government - and the Ministry of Interior in particular - was condoning torture and running death squads.

The allegations raise the possibility of the war being fought here by a set of far messier rules, as the Americans push more responsibility for fighting it onto the Iraqis. One worry, expressed repeatedly by Americans and Iraqis here, is that an abrupt pullout of American troops could clear the way for a sectarian war.

One Sunni group taking testimony from families in Baghdad said it had documented the death or disappearance of 700 Sunni civilians in the past four months.

An investigator for the human rights organization said it had not been able to determine the number of executions carried out by the Iraqi security forces. So far, the investigator said, the evidence was anecdotal, but substantial.

"There is no question that bodies are turning up," said the investigator, who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity, citing safety concerns. "Quite a few have been handcuffed and shot in the back of the head."

As an example, the human rights investigator said that the group had been able to verify that a number of Sunni men taken from the Baghdad neighborhood of Huriya and shot to death last August. Relatives of the dead told the group that more than 30 men had been taken from their homes by the Iraqi police in what appeared to be a roundup of Sunni males.

In the Iskan neighborhood in Baghdad, the human rights group said it had confirmed that 36 Sunni men had been abducted and killed in the neighborhood in August. Sunni groups say the men were taken from their homes by men who identified themselves as intelligence agents from the Interior Ministry.

"The stories are pretty much consistent across the board, both in the manner that the men are being abducted and in who they say is taking them," the human rights investigator said.

John F. Burns and Mona Mahmoud contributed reporting for this article.

Posted by vicki at 11:11 AM

I really like this editorial in today's NYTimes.

Editorial
This One Meal

Published: November 24, 2005

Somehow Thanksgiving always recalls the past. The question is which past. For most of us, the Pilgrims and their sufferings are no more real than the thought of a cold November day without central heating. The richest part of our imagination is bounded by childhood, and when we think of an authentic, historical Thanksgiving, we tend to mean the kind of feast we ate when the adults all seemed so much bigger and wiser and funnier - a feast that is authentic right down to the Jell-O salad, if you come from the Jell-O salad part of the country.

If you happen to be old enough, you celebrated Thanksgiving, as a child, in the company of adults who grew up during the Great Depression or came of age during World War II. What they tended to bring to the feast was a keen sense of gratitude.

"When I was your age," the stories began, stories of deprivation that contained within them a certain wonder at the abundance the storytellers found around them - not just the richness of the table itself, but the warmth and illumination of the houses, the way they kept a dark, wet November at bay. It was hard to hear those stories without feeling a certain skepticism. If life had been that difficult, why did grown-ups enjoy talking about it so much?

We often find it hard to be as thankful as we should be these days. For so many Americans, it is no longer a question of having too little or having enough. It's the difference between having too much and having way, way too much.

It is too easy to forget, amid this abundance, that all across America a different kind of Great Depression is still going on. The old stories would have been told very differently - if they were told at all - if they had been tales of growing up poor in the midst of wealth. There was no shame in the collective poverty of the Great Depression. There is no shame in the poverty Americans suffer today. The shame adheres to those who do nothing to change it.

Perhaps it isn't necessary to have gone hungry in order to be thankful for eating well. In a land of economic entitlement, gratitude may be almost too old-fashioned to sustain for more than this one day. But then there is something to be said for an old-fashioned holiday like this one. For a moment, we grasp how rich we are, how close we feel to the ones around us, and we give thanks before it all seems merely normal again.

Peace!

Posted by vicki at 08:41 AM | Comments (1)

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/11/23/13222/916

I just HAD to blog this because it made me feel GOOD when I saw it, and I know it will make a few others feel better.

Posted by Mojo at 04:11 PM | Comments (1)

After years of claiming that importation of cheaper drugs from Canada and other countries would be unsafe, Northup reversed course and sponsored a provision in legislation allowing for importation of cheaper prescription drugs from countries outside the U.S. Bu$h signed the legislation, but in doing so took a slap at Northups bill saying, he considered the provision "advisory" only. Hahahahahaha.

Bu$h niether respects Congress or the law. Here is the headline and snip from today's CJ article:

Bush blocks Northup on drug effort
President Bush and Rep. Anne Northup of Kentucky clashed yesterday over legislation intended to open America to imports of cheaper prescription drugs. Bush signed a spending bill with Northup's provision in it but said he considered the language "advisory."

Here is the entire article

Posted by vicki at 09:31 AM | Comments (2)

See for yourself.

I am ashamed to think this nit wit represents the United States.

I think we need a sane person in the WH. Really.

Posted by vicki at 06:55 PM | Comments (2)

Un-stinking-believable! Every last republican in our state voted to cut money for entitlement programs while preserving tax breaks for the wealthy and granting themselves a hefty raise.

They had plenty of time to waste on a sham vote on whether to immediately withdraw troops from Iraq, but rushed through terrible legislation to cut Medicaid funding, food stamps for the poor and higher education, to name a few.

The highway robbery doesn't end there. They also voted to sell more than 20 million acres of public land in national forests, parks and ranges to mining interests at bargain basement prices.

You can read about this disgraceful legislation here. Is it any wonder none of our GOP members of congress has the courage to face us in a town hall meeting?

Posted by vicki at 11:02 AM | Comments (1)

Fitzgerald Calls For New Grand Jury In CIA Leak Case..

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051118/pl_nm/bush_leak_dc_19

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said in court filings that the ongoing
CIA leak investigation will involve proceedings before a new grand jury, a possible sign he could seek new charges in the case.
n filings obtained by Reuters on Friday, Fitzgerald said "the investigation is continuing" and that "the investigation will involve proceedings before a different grand jury than the grand jury which returned the indictment" against Vice President
Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

Fitzgerald did not elaborate in the document. For two years he has been investigating the leak of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. The grand jury that indicted Libby expired after the charges were filed late last month.

President George W. Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, was not indicted along with Libby. But lawyers involved in the case said Rove remained under investigation and may still be charged.

Earlier this week Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward disclosed that he testified under oath to Fitzgerald that a senior Bush administration official had casually told him in mid-June 2003 about CIA operative Valerie Plame's position at the agency.

Fitzgerald's comments about bringing proceedings before a different grand jury were contained in court filings in which he backed off seeking a blanket order to keep all documents in the CIA leak case secret.

This is what I expected. The heat is still on, just not on the national radar right now. Fitz seems to be plodding along a path that leads directly to the White House and the Office of the VP and to the WHIG specifically..

Go get 'em Patty

Posted by Mojo at 02:50 PM | Comments (1)

The task force Gov. Fletcher assigned to look into merit the system approved 27 recommendedations, including retaining the criminal misdemeaner penalty for breaking merit hiring rules.

Fletcher claims the rules were too vague and that he needed a list "of do's and don'ts, if you will." Only an nit wit like him could claim the rules on hiring based on politics rather than merit were unclear. I'll add another recommendation to Earnie's list: Stop breaking the law! Ok, and a bonus: Quit lying and obstructing justice.

Posted by vicki at 02:27 PM

Bless you, every one.

I grew more depressed throughout the course of the day with one after another regular DL member buggered off (understandably) on our field trip to Rich O's in Hoosierville due to the number of tornado warnings. For a while, Dear Leader Mark and I thought we'd be the only ones there. I nearly canceled the whole thing.

Yet 7:00 came and Brad and Debby showed up. Next came our mad scientist, Lee. Then Rich. A while later Anne and Kurt popped in. Next came Ron. And on it went.

Rich O's is a fantastic bar, and Roger was an excellent host. I loved the setting and mingling about the different rooms meeting folks.

We have two volunteers to be City Leaders and Mark has promised to host the firt few meetings til they meet the few National requirements to host a chapter. This is a fantastic bar and group of liberals. I felt proud to be among them tonight.

Thanks to all who turned out on a difficult night.

Vicki

Posted by vicki at 11:04 PM

Here is a link to Rich O's Pub

See you all there at 7:00!

Posted by vicki at 02:31 PM

Thanks to DL friend and dear sis-in-law, Amy.

Posted by vicki at 10:42 AM | Comments (5)

Jeepers. The C.I.A. is under criminal investigation in 3 European countries for illegally using their airports as part of the U.S. "rendition" of terror suspects. This is as frightening as it is embarrassing. From the NY Times.

By STEPHEN GREY and RENWICK McLEAN
Published: November 14, 2005
LONDON, Nov. 11 - On the Spanish island of Majorca, the police quietly opened a criminal investigation in March after a local newspaper reported a series of visits to the island's international airport by planes known to regularly operate for the Central Intelligence Agency.

Now, it has emerged that an investigative judge in Palma has ordered the police inquiry to be sent to Spain's national court, to consider whether the C.I.A. was routing planes carrying terrorism suspects through Majorca as part of its so-called rendition program.

Under that system, the United States has bypassed normal extradition procedures to secretly transfer at least 100 suspects to third countries where, according to allegations by human rights groups and former detainees themselves, some of the suspects have been tortured.

The program is the focus of a number of European investigations. Spain is the third country in Europe to open a judicial inquiry into potential criminal offenses committed by C.I.A. operatives related to renditions. The other two are Germany and Italy, which on Friday formally requested the extradition of 22 people said to be C.I.A. operatives linked to the suspected kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric in 2003.

Last week, related investigations were started by the European Union and the Council of Europe to look into reports of secret C.I.A. jails for terrorism suspects in Eastern Europe.

An inquiry seems likely by the United Nations' special rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak. Last week he said that if reports of the C.I.A.'s activities proved correct, then the agency was engaged in a "systematic practice of enforced disappearance."

Bartolomé Barceló, the chief prosecutor for the Majorca region, ordered the inquiry there after the newspaper Diario de Mallorca published its report.

In a 114-page police report dated April 14, the investigators said they obtained details of the planes' flight plans, passengers and crews by interviewing ground staff, consulting aviation documents and examining the registers of the two hotels where the men and women stayed.

Two of the planes examined have been widely identified as involved in rendition operations and as owned by the C.I.A.

The police report said the planes' operator was Stevens Express Leasing, a Tennessee-registered corporation that, according to inquiries by The New York Times, owns several planes operated for the C.I.A.

A third plane, privately owned and United States-registered, has been regularly hired by the C.I.A. The police identified up to 42 American operatives and crew members on the flights that landed in Spain. One crew of 11 flew on a route that matched exactly that described by Binyam Muhammad, a suspected accomplice of another suspect, Jose Padilla.

None of the 42 Americans named in the Spanish police report as passengers or crew aboard the three alleged C.I.A. planes are so far accused of any crime, and their identities have not been made public.

The New York Times has obtained the names and tried to trace the people involved.

At least 18 shared addresses at a handful of mailboxes in Virginia, close to the C.I.A.'s headquarters, and many had Social Security numbers issued within the last five years. The name listed as a pilot has a listed address at the same mailbox in Vienna, Va., used by a senior executive of Stevens Express Leasing.

Stephen Grey reported from London for this article, and Renwick McLean from Madrid. Margot Williams contributed reporting from New York.

Posted by vicki at 08:49 AM | Comments (1)

I suppose one could make a career out of documenting the countless inanities of Gov. Ernie and company. In the long history of pathetic governors and legislators in this deeply ignorant State, Ernie Fletcher is a stand out. That is not a compliment.

Today's Courier-Journal editorial about the latest embarrassment out of the governors office, "it's Patton's fault! He did it, too!" is spot on. Read it HERE and weep.

[snip]

First, and most pathetically, the Governor reverted to his original, Paul-Patton-did-it-too excuse for trashing the merit system laws, and it was no less childish this time than last.

His advisers need to sit him down and remind him that it doesn't matter what Mr. Patton or anybody else, did: His mandate as governor was to end, wipe out, banish forever Kentucky's scuzzy, spoils-system ways, not to emulate, excuse and entrench them.

His team should also run an instant replay for him, so he can see for himself how offensive it is for a governor to claim he's entitled to break laws because his predecessors got away with it. The law is the law, and he took an oath to uphold it.

Second, and more dangerous, the Governor last week pressed for a momentous judicial ruling that would handcuff the special grand jury and thrill every political hack, grafter and fixer in the state.

His position is that a governor, by issuing the kind of quick, general and prospective pardons he handed out to his crew, may not only spare indicted individuals from trial and punishment; he can also prevent any further grand jury indictment, action or report regarding his administration's crimes.

[end snip]

It remains unproven that former Gov. Patton "did it too," of course. But that doesn't stop the childish accusations of this miserable administration. The similarities to Bu$h's *Clinton did it, too* is as striking as it is ineffective. The GOP's phony claims of restoring honor and integrity to high office and to "clean up the mess" from Democrat administrations leave me longing for the good old days.

Posted by vicki at 06:46 PM | Comments (3)

Thank heaven the budget bill in congress did not pass last week, but they are planning to take it up again next week, so watch out!

Buried deep inside the bill is a plan to sell up to 20 million acres of public land, owned by taxpayers, to mining and mineral companies and individuals. This bill would allow the sale of rites to our land at bargain basement prices if they contain deposits of minerals. There has been a ban on buying "patents" on public land since 1994, and this bill would overturn it.

There is another catch to selling off our National Parks and forests. By selling the patents, the Department of the Interior gives up the right to prevent mining companies from re-selling the land to individuals. I can just imagine some real estate mogul paying off the mining companies for the land and developing a theme park or resort.

This is the brainchild of that great, greedy fool from California, DICK Pombo R-(at) Calif., who would screw taxpayers in the process of selling the land for $1,000 an acre, or fair market value, whichever is greater. Think about it: Say Yellowstone National Park has mineral deposits scattered about that vast park. Mining companies could buy thousands of acres at $1,000 a pop and get the minerals for free.

This rotten bill fails to account for the vast wealth that can be made from public treasure for a song, not to mention the destruction of our national parks and national forests to satisfy the unquenchable greed of special interest lobbies. Republicans. Never ashamed of robbing the public to enrich *Special Interests.*

This is bad legislation and then some. Call, write, or send a carrier pigeon to your Rep. and demand they vote this abomination DOWN

Posted by vicki at 06:28 PM

Read Pam Platt's (Courier Journal Public editor) moving account of Louisville twins who served together in Vietnam. Only one survived.

'Its so easy to remember, so hard to forget'
Here's a snip: Read the entire article here

A twin honors his fallen brother on this – and every – day

In a sunny living room in St. Matthews, in the very house Billy Pfeister and his twin brother, Bobby, were raised, Billy hauls out a scrapbook that's at least three inches thick. Between its black binders are plastic-covered pages that detail, in word and picture, two intertwined lives, and perhaps more than one death.

"Half of me died in Vietnam," Billy says, as he begins to turn the pages.

A day later, Billy makes one of his two weekly trips to the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery on Brownsboro Road. This is no sun-dappled morning. It's raining, and Billy, leaning on a cane and carrying red, white and blue artificial flowers to commemorate Veterans Day, remarks that God's tears are falling on true American heroes here, that there is nothing Hollywood about the people in this sacred ground.

Posted by vicki at 10:29 AM | Comments (1)

Hoo, boy. There are a couple of articles in today's Courier Journal about the latest high jinks of our incompetent Governor that will make you laugh your socks off.

First off, Erine claims he's getting an "outstanding reception" around the state. He must be screening folks the way Bu$h does, I guess. Then, despite all the hard evidence,
our clowning Governor claims he never offered jobs in return for political/campaign cash support. The front page article is laced with examples of supporters demanding jobs and salary
increases. Dang, I could have gotten a cushy state job on the cheap, if only I'd known how easy it was. Read it and laugh.

Posted by vicki at 09:10 AM | Comments (1)

We NOW have an official response from the ELECTORATE of how our scandal ridden Repugnican Regime is viewed, as well as it's Imperialistic agenda.

Here's just some of the news items from yesterday's referendum on Dubya..

Democrats sweep Virginia, New Jersey races

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats swept tough and sometimes nasty governors' races in Virginia and New Jersey on Tuesday, dealing a setback to Republicans and
President George W. Bush ahead of critical congressional elections next year.

n Virginia, Democrat Tim Kaine handily defeated Republican Jerry Kilgore despite Bush's 11th-hour appearance on Kilgore's behalf. Democratic Sen. Jon Corzine (news, bio, voting record) beat Republican businessman Doug Forrester in a bitter New Jersey race featuring an attack on the divorced Corzine by his ex-wife.

California's Republican Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, who put his sinking political capital on the line to push four state ballot initiatives, was headed for defeat across the board.

The only big Republican win came in normally Democratic New York, where Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg sailed to re-election after spending as much as $100 million of his own fortune to defeat Democrat Fernando Ferrer.

With control of both chambers of the U.S. Congress and 36 governorships at stake in 2006, the off-year election offered grim news for Republicans seeking clues to next year's political climate and the long-term effect of Bush's plummeting approval ratings, now the lowest of his presidency.

The outcome in conservative, Republican-leaning Virginia was a particularly bad blow for Bush, who stopped there on election eve for a get-out-the-vote rally with Kilgore. Bush's mounting political problems and Kilgore's poor showing could make Republicans hesitant to call on him for help next year.

http://news.yahoo.com/news/election_usa_dc_18

Democrats keep two governorships
Californians reject Schwarzenegger initiatives

CNN) -- Democrats scored big in Tuesday's off-year elections, keeping their grip on the governorships of Virginia and New Jersey, while Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's reform slate was soundly rejected in California.

In New York City, however, Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg easily secured a second term in the Democratic-dominated Big Apple.

Also Tuesday, two states voted on gay rights ballot measures, to mixed results.In Texas, a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage was overwhelmingly approved. But in Maine, a measure that would have repealed a state law outlawing discrimination against gay men and lesbians was defeated.

In Virginia, Democratic Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine won the governor's race, defeating Republican Jerry Kilgore, a former state attorney general, despite a late-minute appearance on Kilgore's behalf Monday by President Bush. (Watch Democrats revel in their governorship wins -- 1:39)

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/11/09/election.roundup/index.html

Posted by Mojo at 08:57 AM | Comments (3)

Democrat Corzine Is Decisive Winner In NJ

Exit polls for the New Jersey governors' race show democratic Senator Jon Corzine is the decisive winner over Republican businessman Doug Forrester.

The Huffington Post has learned that Senator Corzine wants to appoint acting New Jersey Governor Richard Codey to fill his Senate seat.

Corzine must resign from the Senate in January to assume his position as governor. His Senate term, however, does not end until 2007. State law gives the governor the power to appoint a replacement for the seat. Gov. Richard Codey has been acting governor since Jim McGreevey's resignation took effect on November 15, 2004.

Voters report problems with voting machines in Virginia and Ohio
WHAT A SURPRISE !!!!!

Election day voting is going on across the Old Dominion, but everything has not gone smoothly in Roanoke County.

News 7 has received calls from several voters in at least four different precincts who say their votes for Tim Kaine were not recorded or took several attempts to go through.

They contend the electronic touch screens repeatedly indicated they were voting for Republican candidate Jerry Kilgore instead of registering their intended vote for his Democratic opponent Tim Kaine.

Roanoke Co. Registrar Judy Stokes says she doesn't want to say the problem is operator error on the part of the voters, but she points out the touch screens are sensitive. She says anyone who is having difficulty voting should ask one of the poll workers for assistance.

State election officials have been told of the problem. They believe if there is a problem, it could have been caused by the way the machines were stored.

The Kaine compaign is reportedly watching the situation in Roanoke County.

Ohio.. remember THAT lovely red state ????

Lucas County voting begins Election Day with problems at the polls

Voting so far on new touch-screen machines has not been quite as seamless as local board of elections officials had hoped.

Lucas County Board of Elections director Jill Kelly said some voters left the precincts this morning without voting because the machines were not up and running. She urged people who had problems to return and cast their ballots.

“The places where there were problems have been resolved,” she said. “It really wasn’t a technology problem, it was a people problem.”

Ms. Kelly said that several of the county’s 2,000 trained poll workers had to be talked through some problems during the morning.

Poll workers at the Sylvania Senior Center could not find the machine’s memory cards and at the Toledo Board of Education building the voting machines could not be found. Those issues were resolved, Ms. Kelly said. And those coming to vote where machines were not yet up and running were given provisional ballots.

She denied reports that voters in some precincts were given the wrong ballot issues to consider. She added that as of about 9 a.m., the calls from the 495 precincts died down significantly.

I hope SOMEBODY is watching these elections and a national level,,
AND

Prosecuting the election fraud cases, especially the machines that don't seem to want to count a DEMOCRATIC vote...

Posted by Mojo at 04:35 PM | Comments (1)

Posted by Maria at 12:36 PM | Comments (1)

Che/Fidel and his protegé at a recent DL meeting (in honor of Halloween.)

Posted by Maria at 12:21 PM | Comments (3)

Hey gang! Louisville DL is taking a field trip to Richo's in Indiana on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 7:00pm. We are hoping to spread Democracy, one pint at a time there and encourage Southern Indiana to start their own DL chapter. Please join us!

If you have any ideas or advice on how to promote our visit, please let us know. You can contact Maria, Mark or Vicki at Louisville@drinkingliberally.org

Visit Richo's *Red Room* and the fabulous bar Here and enjoy the tour. Maps are available on his website. Let us know what you think.

Posted by vicki at 11:22 PM | Comments (4)

On Friday, Gov. Fletcher claimed to care deeply about the environment, so naturally I fear the opposite is true. His love of Mother Earth comes just ahead of a pre-filed bill by State Sen. Dan Seum, R-(at), Louisville, who wants to ensure that Louisville cannot proceed with its *Strategic Toxic Air Reduction*, or START program. His bill would prevent Louisville's badly needed reduction of toxic air from taking effect by pretending that we need to have a uniform standard of pollution control accross the state. Bull! He's shilling for the polluters, most likely because they contribute to his campaigns. Look it up. Why else would you go to the mat for dirty, toxic air in your own city?

Somebody needs to tell Dan Seum he is in the Senate to represent the interests of the people of Louisville, not polluters. How typical of Republicans to care more about Big Business and Corporate America than the actual citizens who foolishly vote for them.

Then there is the matter of his daughter, a Hoosier, who has held up representation in the 37th district because of her failure to give up her bid for that office despite two court rulings declaring her election "win" illegal. There is an astounding lack of respect for the law and of the best interests of the people the GOP actually govern. When folks in this country stop voting against their own interests, we will be a better country. It's far past time we stop voting for phony, pious, "values" and educate ourselves to real issues that effect our health and well being. Read the Courier Journal article for more detailed information. Then go to the KYVotes site to the right (heh) of the homepage and let your reps know what's on your mind.

Then feel free to leave your comments here.

Posted by vicki at 07:26 PM | Comments (1)

Oh, brother, he's at it again. Check out the WaPost on the latest trail of Big Time Dick's shame spiral of panting to use torture as an American value.

Read it and just cry

That calls for me to trot out that great old chestnut of a video of our dignified VP. You know, the "Go F**k yourself Mr. Cheney" video.
This one gets me every time. Here's to You, Dick! Hahahaha.

Posted by vicki at 10:13 PM

newsletter@responsibletechnology.orgThis ought to scare the hair off your heads. The chemical giant, Monsanto, has been messing with your food. Read it and weep.

Case Study on Industry Research:
Soy Study by Monsanto

Roundup Ready®* soybeans are engineered to withstand the normally fatal effects of Monsanto's herbicide called Roundup®*. In 1996, Monsanto scientists published a feeding study in the Journal of Nutrition that purported to test their soybeans' effect on rats, catfish, chicken, and cows. It has been used by the biotech industry as their primary scientific validation for safety claims. According to Arpad Pusztai, however, "It was obvious that the study had been designed to avoid finding any problems. Everybody in our consortium knew this." Pusztai, who had published several studies in that same nutrition journal, said the Monsanto paper was "not really up to the normal journal standards." Pusztai says that if he had been asked to referee the paper for publication, "it would never have passed." He's confident that even his graduate assistants would have taken the study apart in short order. Some of the flaws include:

Researchers tested GM soy on mature animals, not young ones. Young animals use protein to build their muscles, tissues, and organs. Problems with GM food could therefore show up in organ and body weight. But adult animals use the protein for tissue renewal and energy. "With a nutritional study on mature animals," says Pusztai, "you would never see any difference in organ weights even if the food turned out to be anti-nutritional. The animals would have to be emaciated or poisoned to show anything."
Even if there were an organ development problem, the study wouldn't have picked it up since the researchers didn't even weigh the organs.
In one of the trials, researchers substituted only one tenth of the natural protein with GM soy protein. In two others, they diluted their GM soy six- and twelve-fold. Scientists Ian Pryme of Norway and Rolf Lembcke of Denmark wrote, the "level of the GM soy was too low, and would probably ensure that any possible undesirable GM effects did not occur."
Pryme and Lembcke, who published a paper in Nutrition and Health that analyzed all peer-reviewed feeding studies on GM foods, also pointed out that the percentage of protein in the feed used in the Roundup Ready study was "artificially too high." This "would almost certainly mask, or at least effectively reduce, any possible effect of the [GM soy]." They concluded, "It is therefore highly likely that all GM effects would have been diluted out."
In spite of the authors' claims that GM soy was equivalent to natural soy, their own data revealed significant differences in the ash, fat, and carbohydrate content. Roundup Ready soy meal also contained more trypsin inhibitor, a potential allergen, which might explain the sudden jump in soy allergies in the UK beginning right after Roundup Ready soy was introduced. Also, cows fed GM soy produced milk with a higher fat content, further demonstrating a disparity between the two types of soy.
Years after the study appeared, medical writer Barbara Keeler discovered data from the original research that hade been omitted from the published paper. It showed that Monsanto's GM soy had significantly lower levels of protein, a fatty acid, and phenylalanine, an essential amino acid. Also, toasted GM soy meal contained nearly twice the amount of a lectin-one that may interfere with the body's ability to assimilate other nutrients.
The study also omitted many details normally part of a published paper. According to Pryme and Lembcke "No data were given for most of the parameters."
Researchers tested the effects of protein derived from bacteria, not from Roundup Ready soybeans, claiming the two were equivalent. There are more than a dozen ways, however, in which soy-derived protein might create health problems that would not be detected in protein produced from bacteria.

* Roundup® and Roundup Ready® are registered trademarks of Monsanto Company.

Copyright © 2003 Jeffrey M. Smith

Read more about Geneticly Modified Food here.

Posted by vicki at 04:29 PM

MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina - A crowd of 10,000 protesters chanting "Get out Bush!" swarmed the streets of this Argentine resort Friday, hours before the hemisphere's leaders sat down to debate free trade, immigration and job creation. Before dawn, thousands greeted a train bringing the last group of fellow demonstrators from Buenos Aires, including Bolivian presidential hopeful Evo Morales and soccer great Diego Maradona, who donned a T-shirt accusing
President Bush of war crimes.

Chanting "Fascist Bush! You are the terrorist!" the protesters hung from the engine and moved up the sides of the train, trying to shake hands with those inside.

Later, they took to the streets, heading toward a stadium where Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez made a speech before joining the Summit of the Americas.

Chavez arrived early Friday, saying he was "inspired" by the protesters, who also oppose the U.S.-led negotiations to form a Free Trade Area of the Americas stretching from Alaska to Argentina.

"Today the FTAA is dead and we are going to bury it here. We are here to change the course of history," he said after stepping off his plane.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&u=/ap/20051104/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/americas_summit_34

I WILL NOT bash Dubya today. Some of our group's kinder souls have probably been put off or maybe even offended by my "politically incorrect" rhetoric aimed at the current Junta/Regime occupying the White House.

But I WILL show you all some pretty pictures I found on the 'net...

I think the extremely popular Argentine soccer star Diego Armando Maradona and Hugo Chavez tend to agree on most things..

One advantage of NOT being a President is being able to wear what you want...

LOTS of folks had a few things to say about our dear Preznit Dubya...

These people look UPSET.... I wonder why ???

.
.
.
I HAD to include a pic of my favorite left-wing revolutionary !!!!

Posted by Mojo at 12:53 PM | Comments (9)

Poll: More Bad News For Bush

(CBS) Most Americans believe someone in the Bush Administration did leak Valerie Plame's name to reporters – even though Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald indicted no one for doing that. Half of the public describes the matter as something of great importance to the country, and this poll finds low assessments of both the President and the Vice President – with the President's overall approval rating dropping again to its lowest point ever.

The nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court has had minimal impact so far, and assessments of the war in Iraq remain negative – with more than ever before saying the Administration was less than honest in discussing their reasons for war.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/11/02/opinion/polls/main1005327.shtml?CMP=ILC-SearchStories

So now I wonder.... WHAT could have happened to wake up the neanderthals who were FOR Dubya just a month ago ???

Was it THIS ??

Board of Church and Society calls for withdrawal from Iraq

WASHINGTON (UMNS) - On a day when officials at the State Department were monitoring the results of a constitutional referendum in Iraq, a couple of miles away in a local hotel the United Methodist Board of Church and Society passed a resolution calling on the United States to withdraw its troops from the country.

"As people of faith, we raise our voice in protest against the tragedy of the unjust war in Iraq," the resolution stated. "We urge the United States government to develop and implement a plan for the withdrawal of its troops. The U.S. invasion has set in motion a sequence of events which may plunge Iraq into civil war."

Criticizing a war "waged on false premises," the resolution went on to state, "Thousands of lives have been lost and hundreds of billions of dollars wasted in a war the United States initiated and should never have fought. ...We grieve for all those whose lives have been lost or destroyed in this needless and avoidable tragedy. Military families have suffered undue hardship from prolonged troop rotations in Iraq and loss of loved ones. It is time to bring them home."

The resolution passed easily on the last day of the board's Oct. 13-17 meeting, with only two no votes and one abstention.

Board_of_Church_and_Society_calls_for_withdrawal_from_Iraq

Gee... It's almost SAD when a despot megalomaniac and his henchman LOSES THE SUPPORT OF THIER OWN CHURCH !!!

or maybe THIS ???

Bush critics say US is losing war on terror....

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. terrorism experts Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon have reached a stark conclusion about the war on terrorism: the United States is losing. Despite an early victory over the Taliban and al Qaeda in
Afghanistan, the two former Clinton administration officials say
President George W. Bush's policies have created a new haven for terrorism in
Iraq that escalates the potential for Islamic violence against Europe and the United States.

America's badly damaged image in the Muslim world could take more than a generation to set right. And Bush's mounting political woes at home have undermined the chance for any bold U.S. initiatives to address the grim social realities that feed Islamic radicalism, they say.

"It's been fairly disastrous," said Benjamin, who worked as a director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council from 1994 to 1999.

"We have had some very important successes getting individual terrorists. But I think the broader story is really quite awful. We have done a lot to fuel the fires, and we have done a lot to encourage people to hate us," he added in an interview.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051101/pl_nm/security_terrorism_dc

or maybe THIS ????

Rumsfeld hints at more troops in Iraq

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Coming off one of the deadliest months for American troops, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld indicated that the number of U.S. forces in Iraq could rise temporarily as Iraqis prepare to vote in mid-December parliamentary elections.

"We have had a pattern of increasing the number of coalition forces during periods when there was an expectation that the insurgents and terrorists would like to try to disrupt the political process," Rumsfeld told Pentagon reporters.

Rumsfeld and Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said they expect insurgents to expand their attacks as the elections approach, but would not say exactly how they plan to protect U.S. soldiers from the growing number of roadside bombs.

"We'll decide what we're going to do about December as we go along, but it would not be a surprise to me that the commanders would want to have some sort of an overlap there" between arriving and departing units, Rumsfeld said.

U.S. troop levels rose to a peak of 161,000 before the October 15 election on the new constitution, but dipped to 158,000 as of Tuesday. There were 159,000 U.S. troops in Iraq for the January elections.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/11/01/rumsfeld.iraq.ap/index.html

All this is just a LITTLE OF what has been going on recently that has escape most of our attention because of Traitorgate and the disasterous Supreme Court nominations.. there is a TON of bad karma raining down on the White House these days... what goes around is coming around... to roost on the White House lawn.. I guess this is what happens when decades of lying and corruption and treasonous behaviour all come back on you at the same time ....

Give it up georgie... fire Rumsfeld, Rove and Cheney then appoint John McCain to replace Cheney.. Maybe HE will pardon you like a Gerald Ford when we finally get around to IMPEACHING YOUR ASS...

Posted by Mojo at 12:59 PM | Comments (2)

Yesterday, Sen. Harry Reid demanded a Secret Session in the Senate`to try to force the Republicans to keep their word about investigating the White House's involvement in exagerating and hyping *evidence* of Saddam's WMD and their debunked claims of a Saddam, 9/11 connection.

Every citizen of this country is owed an explanation. We were lied to every at every step of the way, from the lead up to and the execution of the unprovoked invasion of Iraq. The Republican Congress's cover up for the Bu$h/Cheney White House is a criminal neglect of their oversight duties. Demand answers from Northup, Bunning and McConnell.

Sen. Reid was correct yesterday when he bitterly complained that, under GOP *leadership,* (hahahahaha) there has been virtually no oversight of any kind in any area of government. Under Bu$h, the vast majority of folks in this country don't count. If you aren't a religious zealot or corporate cash cow, you can drop dead. Enough!

Posted by vicki at 11:45 AM

When Harriet Miers’ nomination was first announced, George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley called her an “amazingly bad choice.” This morning, he weighed in Samuel Alito:

JONATHAN TURLEY: He’s the top choice for particularly pro-life people. Sam Alito is viewed as someone who is likely to join the hard right in likely narrowing Roe and possibly voting to overturn Roe.

KATIE COURIC: So he is a strict constructionist in every since of the word? I know President Bush is looking for a conservative jurist, so he fits the bill in terms of someone who will interpret the Constitution literally and may disagree with the right to privacy, which is the foundation of Roe v. Wade?

TURLEY: Oh absolutely. There will be no one to the right of Sam Alito on this Court. This is a pretty hardcore fellow on abortion issues.

COURIC: Not even Antonin Scalia?

TURLEY: They’ll have to make a race to the right, but I think it will be by a nose, if at all. …

COURIC: And ideology trumped gender in this case, right?

TURLEY: I think so. I think the president wanted, first of all, to show he could pick someone who was clearly qualified and has the resume, but he also wanted to rally his base. He’s done both with Sam Alito. No one on the conservative base can be unhappy with Sam Alito. The question is whether they can weather this storm that will be coming, I think, and whether there will be a filibuster.

ALITO WOULD OVERTURN ROE V. WADE: In his dissenting opinion in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Alito concurred with the majority in supporting the restrictive abortion-related measures passed by the Pennsylvania legislature in the late 1980s. Alito went further, however, saying the majority was wrong to strike down a requirement that women notify their spouses before having an abortion. The Supreme Court later rejected Alito’s view and also voted to reaffirm Roe v. Wade.

ALITO WOULD ALLOW RACE-BASED DISCRIMINATION: Alito dissented from a decision in favor of a Marriott Hotel manager who said she had been discriminated against on the basis of race. The majority explained that Alito would have protected racist employers by “immuniz[ing] an employer from the reach of Title VII if the employer’s belief that it had selected the ‘best’ candidate was the result of conscious racial bias.” [Bray v. Marriott Hotels, 1997]

LOTS MORE TO DISLIKE ABOUT "SCALITO" !!!!

http://www.americanprogressaction.org/site/apps/nl/newsletter2.asp?c=klLWJcP7H&b=917053

Posted by Mojo at 09:00 AM