| We have been telling you all along that the Chimpy/Darth idjits couldn't organize a two-pony parade, and the evidence of same is the continues existence of the republic. But should you be a Doubting Thomas and need more, look no further than this morning's testimony by Attorney General Eric Holder to the Senate Judiciary Committee on his decision to bring terrorism suspects to the United States for trial. Kark Rove, Liz Cheney, Newt Gingrich and Bill Kristol wanted him to walk into a buzz saw. Yesterday Rove tweeted "Don't sit out: 9:30am 11/18 Dirksen Senate Bldg. Rm G-50 to oppose Atty Gen's testimony on trying terrorists on U.S. soil," and Gingrich chirped "Join @keepamericasafe at 9:30am Wed at Dirksen Senate Bldg to protest Holder's testimony on bringing terrorists to US." Keep America Safe, Cheney and Kristol's latest warmongering wet dream told their followers "Reminder 9:30 am show Holder and Obama what you think about the terror trial decision" and posted a "call to action" on their website, urging protests outside the committee meeting. So how did their attempt at a flash-mob work when Dick Armey isn't busing in paid protesters? No such message was delivered on Wednesday morning. When Holder arrived at the committee room in the Dirksen Building, there were no demonstrators, no angry mob. Some 9/11 relatives who oppose trying KSM in New York were in the house. (There are 9/11 families on both sides of this debate.) But the scene was the same as that accompanying most hearings. There was not even a standing-room-only crowd. Plenty of empty chairs could be found in the seating section for the general public. No throng of irate citizens was gathered in the hallway or outside the building.The Capitol Hill police reported no signs of any protest. This was no tea party. Essentially, no one had responded to the urgent pleas from Rove, Gingrich, Kristol, and Cheney.
A portent of things to come? One of Iraq's Vice President's has vetoed an election law with 60 days remaining before the election and a constitutional mandate that the law must be in effect and elections set 60 days in advance. If the obstacle is overcome promptly, it isn't too big a deal for the Americans occupying the country - but if it drags on it could affect plans to draw down American forces.
Philly meets the foreclosure crisis head on No owner-occupied home can be foreclosed on until a conciliation conference can be held and reasonable accommodations made between banks and homeowners to keep people in their homes. If the banks balk, or fail to negotiate in good faith, no sheriffs sale for you!
That would just be too rich, and we would fall over like Opus in a field of daisies if it turned out that Texas, in their rush to outlaw same-sex marriage and anything that approximates it, inserted language into a Constitutional amendment voted for by a majority of citizens, actually outlawed marriage.
Good question Our friend Jill over at Brilliant at Breakfast wants to know where the young feminist bloggers are on the atrocious rollback on breast-health recommendations. Older feminists haven't abandoned them on reproductive issues, but when something that negatively affects older feminists comes up, what do we hear? Crickets.
Certainly nothing to do with repug cowards screaming the terrists 'r comin' to kill yer chillins. "US President Barack Obama has for the first time admitted that the US will miss the January 2010 deadline he set for closing the Guantanamo Bay prison. Mr Obama made the admission in interviews with US TV networks during his tour of Asia. He said he was "not disappointed" that the deadline had slipped, saying he "knew this was going to be hard". Officials are trying to determine what to do with some 215 detainees still held at the US prison in Cuba."
Eh, poor women bear every other burden, what's one more? "Women in developing countries will be the most vulnerable to climate change, a report from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has warned. The agency said there was a disproportionate burden on those women and called for greater equality. They do most of the agricultural work, and are therefore affected by weather-related natural disasters impacting on food, energy and water, it said. Slower population growth would help cut greenhouse gas emissions, it added. The report suggested family planning, reproductive healthcare and "gender relations" could influence how the world adapts to rising seas, worsening storms and severe droughts."
Speaking of women's burdens .... "A 20-year-old woman divorcee accused of committing adultery in Somalia has been stoned to death by Islamists in front of a crowd of about 200 people. A judge working for the militant group al-Shabab said she had had an affair with an unmarried 29-year-old man. He said she gave birth to a still-born baby and was found guilty of adultery. Her boyfriend was given 100 lashes. It is thought to be the second time a woman has been stoned to death for adultery by al-Shabab. The group controls large swathes of southern Somalia where they have imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law which has been unpopular with many Somalis."
Nothing like a movie. "The captain of a ship seized earlier this week off the Seychelles has died of gunshot wounds he suffered during the hijacking, Somali pirates say. They say the captain, whose name is not yet known, died on Tuesday. The MV Theresa VIII, a Singaporean-operated tanker with a crew of 28 North Koreans - was seized about 180 nautical miles north-west of the Seychelles. The news comes as Somali pirates attacked a US-flagged ship for the second time."
Don't think it doesn't happen here. "The death in prison of a Russian lawyer has sparked bitter accusations of maltreatment of inmates. Sergei Magnitsky, 37, who was being held on suspicion of conspiracy, died this week from what investigators say was acute heart failure. It has since emerged he had repeatedly complained about prison authorities' refusal to allow him medical care. Mr Magnitsky had acted for Hermitage Capital Management, once a leading foreign investor. A spokeswoman for the Russian prosecutor's office says Mr Magnitsky's death was tragic and came as an absolute surprise. She acknowledged that he had complained about prison conditions, which are often overcrowded and extremely unhygienic in Russia. A statement from Hermitage said that he had also complained about being denied treatment for digestive problems."
We'll believe it when the final vote is registered. "Senate Democratic leaders planned to unveil an $849 billion health care plan Wednesday night that would cut the federal budget deficit by an estimated $127 billion over the next 10 years, according to preliminary Congressional Budget Office estimates. The CBO analysis, awaited for nearly a month as senators struggled to craft a compromise bill, was welcome news for the leadership. A senior leadership aide said that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who was to present the legislation before a private meeting of Democrats Wednesday evening, was now "confident" he could get the votes to begin debate."
As long as he's there to cast a vote for a strong public option health care reform bill. "West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd has been around so long that nearly all lawmakers in Congress can remember reasons they love him - and many can recall how they once bitterly opposed him. The veteran Democrat on Wednesday became the longest-serving member of Congress in history, as he logged day number 20,774, surpassing the record of Arizona Democrat Carl Hayden, who served in the House of Representatives and the Senate from 1912 to 1969. As the senior senator, Byrd, who'll turn 92 on Friday, is the Senate president pro tempore, and third in line for the presidency. Although he's been ailing lately and missed most votes this year, he's been back in recent weeks. He was the floor manager for this year's homeland security spending bill, and he heard tributes Wednesday from his colleagues."
Sanford is still governor, but maybe not for long. "Tuesday, House lawmakers got their first shot at prefiling legislation to be considered in the 2010 session that begins in January. Most of the 51 bills won't make it out of committee. Still, the range of bills gives residents a sense of what is on their legislators' minds. House members will get a second chance in December to prefile more, as will senators. One of the most-anticipated bills, a measure to impeach Gov. Mark Sanford, was prefiled and has been sent to the House Judiciary Committee, said House Speaker Bobby Harrell. But unless there are new revelations of wrongdoing found in a State Ethics Commission investigation, Sanford should stay, Harrell said."
This is inexcusable, and inexcusably stupid. "Two months after questions were raised about the legality of his deportation by U.S. authorities, a Salvadoran man returned from his homeland Tuesday to a tearful reunion with his wife in Miami. Meanwhile, friends and relatives of two Miami Dade College students are drumming up support to keep the two men from being deported to their native Venezuela. The cases, say immigrant rights advocates, have rekindled fears that immigration authorities are stepping up detentions and deportations. "The immigrant community expected reform, that was promised, and all they've got is increased enforcement," said Jonathan Fried, executive director of WeCount!, a Homestead-based immigrant rights group planning a public meeting Saturday on immigration enforcement. "The Obama administration has no heart. It's all about politics.""
Another reason to crack down on military contractors. "Army Lt. Col. Dominic "Rocky" Baragona was killed in Iraq on the very day that he was going home. He was en route, heading south on the road between Baghdad and Kuwait City, when a tractor-trailer lost control, jackknifed across the highway and crushed his Humvee. That was more than six years ago, when the Iraq war was barely two months old, and Baragona's family has been fighting to hold someone accountable ever since. His parents, Dominic and Vilma Baragona, and a sister, were on Capitol Hill Wednesday to tell a Senate hearing how their quest for justice after his death has been a frustrating effort."
This is even better than the "I was dreaming" excuse. "A 25-year-old San Miguel (CA) man accused of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of his wife told a sheriff's investigator his dog ran underneath his feet, tripping him and causing the handgun to mistakenly fire at her."
You gotta be effin' kidding us A Bob Dylan Christmas album and videos? We are feeling pretty silly right about now for putting "buy a Bob Dylan Christmas album" on our 'bucket list' as a hedge against ever dying, thinking there would never be any such thing.
2 Dead, 21 injured in tour bus crash in Minnesota A spokesman for the Minnesota State Patrol said that an eastbound tour bus crossed over into the westbound lanes of Interstate 90 west of Austin at about 3:20 this afternoon. The bus, which was carrying 24 people at the time of the crash came to rest on it's side in a ditch.
Palinmania in perspective 1500 Wait In Freezing Weather To Meet Palin On Book Tour...That's right, less than 1/100th of the population of Grand Rapids, Michigan - that are already used to freezing temps this time of year - stood outside and waited to enter a climate controlled room to meet Palin. Likely bolstered by thick jackets, hot coffees and cocoa, as well as from the body heat of others, the crowd braved the elements of late fall in Michigan like they will for the next football tailgating party. Behold, the power of Palin!
Careers better end publicly and painfully Nidal Hasan had a damning letter of reprimand in his personnel file that should have ended his career, written by a supervisor at Walter Reed that detailed concerns with Hasan's "incompetence and reckless behavior," which included seeing a grand total of thirty patients in thirty-eight weeks, blowing off a vital exam, refusing to answer the phone when he was on call and letting a homicidal patient escape from an ER. He was a fuckup from Jump Street and ought to have been cashiered quickly. Sometimes you cut your fucking losses and you boot a bad soldier whether you got your investment back in years served or not. Look what that attempt to do so cost the Army before it was all said and done. He wanted out, he would have left without too much drama if he had been offered the chance to resign his commission.
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Best New SoapBlox - 2008
