Friday, May 30, 2008
"John McCain is a war hero."
Reality--Only he isn't. McCain bombed men, women, and children from the air...civilians. This is a war crime. But forget about that for a moment and consider this: how courageous is it to sit in the cockpit of a circa-1966 jet fighter-bomber, strafing and bombing an ill-equipped nameless, faceless enemy from several thousand feet? It's not. John McCain not only isn't a hero, he's a de facto war criminal and a scoundrel. He's hardly alone in Congress. Someday, this war's gonna end.
A Day Experiencing the So-Called Release of Former Bush Press Sec. Scott McClellan's "What Happened"
Michiana (Northern Indiana & Southern Michigan)--Sometimes, but just sometimes, I forget that I'm still living in Indiana. What does that mean? For those fortunate enough not to have ever lived here, an explanation: we're extremely backwards culturally, socially, and especially regarding the rights of American workers. Along with these deplorable conditions, you get those "Bible-belt" attitudes everyone on the coasts reads about.
Some traditional Indiana crops besides corn: anti-intellectualism (especially this, just ask Michael Moynihan), an irrational reactionary partisanship among voters and non-voters, a vulgar attitude towards the rights and lives of others (every person for themselves), racism, sexism, rampant homophobia, and a general social and cultural malaise that one usually associates with peasant communities. Speaking of Indiana:
McClellan says the White House kept a tight lid on information about the planning for the war in Iraq. The president became enraged in September 2002 when his top economic adviser, Larry Lindsey, was cited in the Wall Street Journal estimating that the war might cost $100 billion to $200 billion, according to McClellan.Current Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels isn't "my [main] man," but you can have him. Any takers? Nonetheless, yesterday was truly Scott McClellan Day in this part of the state, and it was on emotionally explosive display whenever and wherever the book was mentioned (by myself, naturally, again-and-again). Why? I was looking for a copy of the book almost everywhere here, but to no avail.
'Unacceptable'
"It's unacceptable,'' McClellan quotes Bush as saying. "It's unacceptable. He shouldn't be talking about that.''
Lindsey's "mistake,'' McClellan says, was in talking about an aspect of the looming war that "wasn't part of the script'' for selling it to the public.
Bush dismissed Lindsey in December 2002, about three months after he gave the estimate. At the time, then-Budget Director Mitch Daniels and other administration officials dismissed Lindsey's figure as too high. Daniels said the conflict would cost about the same as the $61 billion spent on the 1991 Persian Gulf conflict. (Bloomberg, 05.28.2008)
The first stop was at Barnes & Noble: "No, we're sold-out, we didn't get many copies, but others have placed orders. You can put-in an order." I declined. Fine, maybe they didn't order many, and it's not as if the managers of chain bookstores do the ordering, but PublicAffairs offers the book in cartons of 24-copies to retailers. One might presume there was a command from the top that there wouldn't be much interest (?), even though excerpts from the former Bush press secretary's tell-all were leaked nearly two-months-ago. What is this?
Next stop: Borders. Nothing. No display, no promotion, nada. No sign of the book anywhere, but Rachel Ray's (Gidget on crack) socially important book on food--rife with shameless promotions for products she endorses--was readily available, as were several others of no real significance. Fine. Off to my night class I scurried, hurriedly filling my gas tank and emptying my wallet in-the-process...
"I could not find this damned McClellan book--try finding it." I told an older female classmate. It's a continuing education class in the legal field. I like everyone in the class, it's a good mix of people, a gaggle that would make Sherwood Schwarz envious.
"That book is a bunch of lies," said the older lady, never having read it. This reminded me a lot of the 1988 controversy surrounding Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ," a film that played here to bomb-threats and armed Pinkerton guards in the lobby. Hey, I haven't read Scott's book either, but not for lack of trying.
Anyway, she raged on, repeating the White House's line verbatim: "He's disgruntled, he's lying!! He has no right to write and say things like that about the president. He's releasing national security secrets, it's all a lie. He should have waited until President Bush was out of office." And so on. I hope she felt better, cognitive-dissonance is painful.
You see, the problem is, Scott McClellan does have a First amendment right to chronicle what he saw, heard, and generally experienced in the White House under George W. Bush, especially if they were violations of the law. This would be his duty as a public official, let alone as a citizen. But besides this, mass-market publishers hire a team of lawyers who comb through a manuscript like this one in a process called "vetting." Until they have "cleared" the book for approval, the publishers won't generally take the book to the presses for printing. There are exceptions, but it appears this isn't the case with McClellan's tome. It's well-known that "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception" was not only vetted, but edited by the publisher beforehand.
My question is this: why is this book so hard to find, and why didn't the publishers follow-through and print-up what almost anyone (but a publishing executive) knew after the leaking of excerpts of Mr. McClellan's book? Perhaps they did, but the distributors and the chain-stores balked. Yet, none of this matters, and the mainstream media inexplicably let the story run in heavy-rotation yesterday. You couldn't escape the news that this book was--ostensibly--out.
"Only you would be interested in that book," harped another older woman in the class (a high school substitute teacher, the last to know what's going on...). She's a Clinton-supporter, which means she's a Republican-in-hiding.
"Except that it's the number one selling book on Amazon.com," I replied. Grandmother said I should never talk about religion or politics in mixed-company. She wasn't right about everything. So be it. The circle remains unbroken.
Amazon got my money because they're going to actually have the book. I can expect it to arrive somewhere around June 9th, and I believe it will. Expect a thorough review at this location. But what happened with the release of this book? Maybe it was just the incredible demand, yet there's Rachel Ray's and Richard Clarke's books sitting conveniently on the shelves while the most important book of this week is almost impossible to find in this region in a retail-outlet.
I frankly assume that the same thing is occurring across the nation. Strange, that, but it's possible that the publisher PublicAffairs is relatively small. For this reason, one might also presume that this book wasn't for the money, but to set the record straight. None of that matters. It was obvious watching McClellan during his tenure as press secretary that the man was pained by working for a bunch of lying criminals. Better late than never, and now we're going to get some real corroboration. The only issue is how much.
PublicAffairs Books (smoke em' if ya' got em'!): http://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/publicaffairsbooks-cgi-bin/display?book=9781586485566
Bloomberg Bloviation, 05.28.2008: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=alT5b8FoZP5I&refer=home
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
GOP's and Pundits' Stance on Former Bush Press Sec.'s Scathing Book: "Replaced by Alien Pods"
The Noise-o-sphere--"That's not the Scott McClellan I knew, that's someone else," said the well-paid spokesman speaking about a former well-paid spokesman. It must be true, I read it in-print and saw it on TV. Now swallow (anything we throw at you, Empires are GOOD).
Second Day of Mainstream Media's Running of "Duo tries to break world handshaking record" Story
The Generally Crappy American Mainstream Media (Blues)--I don't have to point-out that our media is fairly unreliable, doesn't report the real stories, and puts the ones that threaten the interests of their bosses on-the-backburner--that would be stating the obvious, which I excel at.
But rather than telling us what's really going on in Iraq and Afghanistan (disintegration), we get bread and circuses just as the German public did during the battle for Stalingrad. After that, Germany's defeat was certain.
History never plays-out the same way twice, but combined with the contemporary politician's strong sexual desire to preserve Empire through the "missile defense system" that's being constructed in Europe and elsewhere (some of its infrastructure might be in the South Pacific, certainly within the continental U.S.), we're probably equally fucked. Will the Czechs "save the day," and prevent the radar bases slated to be constructed on their territory from being built? It's possible, but we know it's not going to be the Poles that come through.
This is all very shameful: we're literally tottering on-the-brink, and all we can think about is who's going to win on American Idol or Dance With the Stars. I understand that all of this just becomes too much for hardworking people, and that modern life can be overwhelming. But that doesn't excuse us for wasting the numerous opportunities we've had to prevent all of this. Compared to our ancestors who built the labor movement in this country from the 1840s-1930s, we still have it pretty easy. They worked 12-16 hour days, no-weekends. Remain complacent, and you're going to see a return to these horrible working conditions. But right now, there are bigger fish to fry...
Granting this presidency the power to go to war was the fault of the American people first, Congress second. Until we accept the responsibility for such inaction and our unimaginably wrong-headed attitudes and lifestyles, we're--that's right--fucked. Enough of the shaking babies and kissing hands (of the rich), it's Miller time™ in America.
For the overworked (nearly all Americans), and those with children (ditto), I understand. All these events are too much to take in completely. Pick your fights well. It always has been tough, struggle has never been easy. Do one little thing for change each day. Be good to your kids and your neighbors. That's a start. Now, let's shake! George W. Bush has these boys in Frisco--yes, Frisco--beat. Let's go for a third day with that AP article so that future generations can...OK, they're going to curse us anyway, forget it.
SDS Sit-in at Washington State's Evergreen College in Sixth Day
Olympia/Tacoma, Washington--It all began with a February 15th post-concert riot featuring Dead Prez (?!) at what has been traditionally considered a very liberal university. Banning a student group for the actions of a few is wrong, as well as unconstitutional, and begs the question of whether this is a matter of coordinated harassment.
Members of the Students for a Democratic Society say Evergreen has changed ever since the campus riot in February. They claim free speech has been squashed, concerts banned and student records turned over to police. When the SDS asked to stage a protest in March, the collage asked members to cancel it. "They said that it was because of safety, but almost all the other events went through. This one had a lot less potential for being unsafe than the ones that did go through," said a student who identified herself as "Courtney."SDS staged the event anyway, and it's been suspended from using campus facilities ever since. ("Evergreen state students stage sit-in in so-called fight for free speech," 05.26.2008)For six days, the SDS Olympia chapter has been occupying the halls of the administration building (called "Seminar 1") outside of the office of Art Costantino, the Vice President for Student Affairs. For at least a year, there have been scuffles between the Tacoma Police Department and the student organization (and SDS Tacoma, along with other anti-war groups).
By-all-appearances, the kids are taking all the beatings, and we're seeing more extralegal misbehavior by our nation's police. One example might be very instructive as to the degree of harassment going on at Evergreen against SDS members:
On Friday, May 23 an Evergreen student lost her job as a result of her participation in the demonstrations. Kelly Beckham, 20, was fired from her job at campus Parking Services after being deemed by a "security threat" by Evergreen Chief of Police Ed Sorger. She was notified directly by the police of her termination, rather than by the proper chain of command of her employment. Kelly Beckham, a member of banned student group SDS, was a speaker at the SDS Free Speech rally that preceded the sit-in. The loss of her job was a direct result of her involvement with the sit-in. ("Student Sit-in at TESC, 100 Hours," Portland Independent Media, 05.27.2008)I'm not sure why a 20-year-old student poses a "security threat" with no solid evidence other than that she's a member of a banned student organization. After all, Ms. Beckham was merely exercising her First amendment rights by speaking at the rally, and peaceably participating in the sit-in. It's the hope of this writer that she files a civil suit against Chief Sorger and the university's administrators.
More startling is the fact that she was fired by the Chief of Police of Evergreen--one assumes that he's the university police chief. How much has he been conferring with Tacoma's Police Department and municipal anti-terrorism units in the region? When are the authorities going to start labeling the kids terrorists? Probably when they start defending themselves from extralegal violence from overzealous police.
It's an overreaction by administration authorities in every respect to single-out SDS. The question is: who's at the heart of their actions against the membership of the banned student organization? Is it just the administrators, or is there pressure coming from above? There are just 30 students at a time participating in the sit-in. Even Evergreen alumni are helping--are they a "security threat" as well?
The members of SDS at Evergreen have voiced their commitment to non-violence (while the police clearly haven't), and as far as this writer can tell, none of them were involved directly in the after-concert "riot" of February 15th of this year on the state campus. What is this? Probably history repeating itself. So much for Evergreen's "liberal" image, that's over. But then, the same goes for America's moral standing in the world, something that was always an illusion anyway.
On the sit-in (from yesterday):
KOMO-TV News on the Evergreen sit-in: http://www.komonews.com/news/local/19275174.html
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
A New Prague Spring? Resistance to Radar Bases in the Czech Republic Escalates
Newsletter 1 Hunger strike in Czech Republic: a new Prague spring!
The protest in the Czech Republic continues and gets stronger: on May
Read more: http://nenasili.cz/en/1011_declaration
Europe says No to the "Star Wars" project
"In a moment of global economic crisis where the cost of food is growing
Read [Reagan Secretary of State] G[eorge]. Schultze's declaration:
The on-line petition has already surpassed 90,000 signatures; with
The protest is spreading all over Europe. In many cities there are
The Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision Campaign sends its solidarity and
Message: [Dr.] N[oam]. Chomsky
More information: http://www.nenasili.cz/en/
Support this campaign spreading it among your friends, in your city,
Greetings of peace
May 27th 2008
Dear Friends,The protest in the Czech Republic continues and gets stronger: on May
13th Jan Tamas and Jan Bednar started a hunger strike. "The issue of the
US military base is not only an issue of international security for us,
but also an issue of democracy. It is about whether we will once again
allow a small group of elite politicians to ignore the wishes of the
majority of the population on an issue of great importance to their
fate. These methods remind us of times before 1989 -- times we don't
want to be repeated."
Read more: http://nenasili.cz/en/1011_declaration
Europe says No to the "Star Wars" project
"In a moment of global economic crisis where the cost of food is growing
incredibly and education and health-care are being dangerously
privatized, it is madness to spend millions of Euros on war and the
production of new weapon systems. In such a difficult moment of global
history, Europe must not support any policy that pushes the planet
towards catastrophe: the lives of millions of people are at stake. We
cannot allow our politicians to support the absurd intentions of the
United States to transform Europe into the theatre of a possible nuclear
war".
Read [Reagan Secretary of State] G[eorge]. Schultze's declaration:
The on-line petition has already surpassed 90,000 signatures; with
everybody's help we can reach the objective of 500,000 signatures.
The protest is spreading all over Europe. In many cities there are
permanent demonstrations and other activities of support:
The Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision Campaign sends its solidarity and
support to the two young Czechs, Jan Tamas and Jan Bednar
Message: [Dr.] N[oam]. Chomsky
More information: http://www.nenasili.cz/en/
Video 10 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2NN_1ihgEs&feature=user
Video 20 minutes http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6985757020278142423&q=source:010424056531509976537&hl=en
Support this campaign spreading it among your friends, in your city,
among other organizations and the mass-media.
We can change the future only with everybody's help, a future that today
is in the hands of ruthless and crazy people.
Greetings of peace
Isabel Torres
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The Boy(s) at Annapolis Return(s)...
Annapolis, Maryland--It's interesting that even with the death of Jeane Palfrey, the story continues. Of course, this is that strange part of life where the lives of the passed-on still affect the living, as anyone who has lost someone knows. But history sometimes works this way, and curious questions arise: would we have personal computers if Adolf Hitler hadn't survived gassing in the trenches at Ypres, October 13-14, 1918?
Would David Vitter have been a contender for president had he not frequented the services of the Canal Street and DC Madams due to a politically debilitating sexual-addiction? Thankfully, we'll never know. My bet is that this is Mark Capansky. Of mice and men:
| Domain Name | usna.edu ? (Educational) | ||||||||||||||||
| IP Address | 131.122.47.# (United States Naval Academy) | ||||||||||||||||
| ISP | United States Naval Academy | ||||||||||||||||
| Location |
| ||||||||||||||||
| Language | English (U.S.) en-us | ||||||||||||||||
| Operating System | Microsoft WinXP | ||||||||||||||||
| Browser | Firefox Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.1.14) Gecko/20080404 Firefox/2.0.0.14 | ||||||||||||||||
| Javascript | version 1.5 | ||||||||||||||||
| Monitor |
| ||||||||||||||||
| Time of Visit | May 21 2008 12:02:00 pm | ||||||||||||||||
| Last Page View | May 21 2008 12:07:02 pm | ||||||||||||||||
| Visit Length | 5 minutes 2 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Page Views | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Referring URL | http://www.google.co...e power of 7&spell=1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Search Engine | google.com | ||||||||||||||||
| Search Words | j to the power of 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| Visit Entry Page | http://chickasawpick...esmell.blogspot.com/ | ||||||||||||||||
| Visit Exit Page | http://chickasawpick...esmell.blogspot.com/ | ||||||||||||||||
| Out Click | | ||||||||||||||||
| Time Zone | UTC-5:00 | ||||||||||||||||
| Visitor's Time | May 21 2008 12:02:00 am | ||||||||||||||||
| 35,858 |
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Criterion Announces Re-release of Pier Paolo Pasolini's Masterpiece "Salo," Slated for August
WWW--You can be assured that the only place to find this DVD is on the Internet. Criterion has slated this 2-disc set for an August release. Now, if Warner Brothers can get on the stick and restore and release their Ken Russell catalog--particularly his 1971 political masterwork, "The Devils."
This is overdue, but I can't complain. In the last couple years we've seen the restoration and release of Sergio Leone's "Duck You Sucker/Fistful of Dynamite" (1972), Orson Welles's "F for Fake" (1975), his "Mr. Arkadin" (1955), Werner Rainer Fassbinder's 15 hour 1980 tv-miniseries "Berlin Alexanderplatz,"the films of Michael Powell, Fritz Lang, F.W. Murnau, and even the elusive "Ganja and Hess" (1973) and "Inglorious Bastards" (1977)!
But where's Nicholas Ray's "Johnny Guitar" (1954), and the rest of the Pasolini catalog, restored? If we get "The Magnificent Ambersons" (1942) in 2008 as Warners has promised, we could have a much better year! Watching Salo restored is going to be something else. This film's time has come, and the culture can now sustain its attacks. That's not necessarily reassuring. One of the few great things about this tortured era is the chance to reevaluate these films again the way they were meant to be seen. Culture is the real meaning of life.
Criterion's page for "Salo": http://www.criterion.com/asp/release.asp?id=17
Ted Kennedy has a malignant brain tumor
The Kennedy mythology--The Republicans are salivating like Dr. Pavlov's dogs over this--can't you hear them? This time, they're taking a different tack than when they openly-rejoiced over the actual stroke of South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson. Looking more like a set-piece for a George Romero film than a political culture, we were treated to an unprecedented frothing over the potential death and unseating of a Democratic representative.
With Ted, it's going to be different because the odds are truly stacked against the GOP, and such open displays of inhumanity don't wash so well with the public these days. The war in Iraq and Afghanistan already has that covered. Oh well.
Like any Kennedy, Senator Edward Kennedy isn't perfect. But like most of his brothers, he served his country in the military, as an MP during the Korean War. Has he fed his cronies in Massachusetts? What representative isn't guilty of this attitude towards the public trough?
Like most incumbent senators (unless they're Republicans or arch-conservative Democrats), I'm sure there are plenty of votes Edward Kennedy would like to take back. Let's face it: there have been a lot of times that Senator Kennedy has failed the American public. That would make him a politician, one of our own.
It still doesn't make him a Republican, however, and we should all take note of the present reaction on-the-right: they're puffing him up so that the blow is greater. Just a paltry three-years-ago, nobody in the political mainstream of the Democratic Party was listening to Ted Kennedy's misgivings over the Bush administration's agenda. Kennedy was one of the first to connect the economy and the effect the war in Iraq was having on it. Ted was one of 156 members of Congress that voted against the war in Iraq in 2002. Senate majority leader Harry Reid cannot say this.
This wasn't revolutionary, but saying this aloud in Washington when the GOP and the White House were still riding high was extremely risky. The 2006 midterms changed most of this, but the Democratic incumbents have continued to act as de facto Republicans in their support of the president. Now that the political tides have turned, morons like Rahm Emmanuel need "the old lion" to marshal the troops again.
Rah-rah, go team. Boo team, but don't lose. We can't survive another eight years of the GOP. Live to fight another day, Ted, but remember that the public will always be here, the real solution to our collective-problems. But I give the man credit, and not because he was in the Simpsons Movie.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
"Pennsylvania first state to average $4.00-a-gallon gasoline"
USSA--Still care about gay marriage? Still afraid of Blacks? I thought so, but thankfully, YOU'RE in-the-minority now...
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
The Jackals Who Drove Jeane Palfrey to Suicide Return to J-7 for a Long Read...
Site Meter--For the AUSAs and USAs (particularly Jeffrey A. Taylor): may this haunt you forever. I know that you have no moral compass, or why would you be in the positions you're in right now as Bush/Gonzales appointees? You and this criminal administration will be remembered forever as the scoundrels you are.
There are no names that would do justice to the animals that you are. Read-up, you're going to be doing a lot of it soon, it's going to be part of the permanent historical record. Readers: copy-away from this site and disseminate (primary materials only, the rest requires permission).
| Domain Name | usdoj.gov ? (U.S. Government) | ||||||||||||||||
| IP Address | 149.101.1.# (US Dept of Justice) | ||||||||||||||||
| ISP | US Dept of Justice | ||||||||||||||||
| Location |
| ||||||||||||||||
| Language | English (U.S.) en-us | ||||||||||||||||
| Operating System | Microsoft WinXP | ||||||||||||||||
| Browser | Internet Explorer 6.0 Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; DI60SP1001; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; InfoPath.2) | ||||||||||||||||
| Javascript | version 1.3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Monitor |
| ||||||||||||||||
| Time of Visit | May 14 2008 9:41:21 pm | ||||||||||||||||
| Last Page View | May 14 2008 9:58:15 pm | ||||||||||||||||
| Visit Length | 16 minutes 54 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Page Views | 10 | ||||||||||||||||
| Referring URL | http://www.google.co...=j to the power of 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| Search Engine | google.com | ||||||||||||||||
| Search Words | j to the power of 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| Visit Entry Page | http://chickasawpick...esmell.blogspot.com/ | ||||||||||||||||
| Visit Exit Page | http://chickasawpick....com/search?q=butler | ||||||||||||||||
| Out Click | http://www.yardbird.com/reform_usa_Farewell_Deborah_Jeane_Palfrey.htm http://www.yardbird....ah_Jeane_Palfrey.htm | ||||||||||||||||
| Time Zone | UTC-5:00 | ||||||||||||||||
| Visitor's Time | May 14 2008 9:41:21 am | ||||||||||||||||
| Visit Number | 35,414 | ||||||||||||||||
Postscript, 08.23.2008: Keisling and I were corresponding at this time. Were we under surveillance? Was the Justice Department or other govt. entities reading our e-mails? | |||||||||||||||||
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Comcast Blocking Content Again, This Time, Shirley Golub Ads Criticizing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
San Francisco, California--Comcast isn't allowing ads by candidate Shirley Golub, the woman with a real chance at beating Bush administration-enabler, the incumbent Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in California's 8th District. Cindy Sheehan--bless her heart--doesn't appear to be running a viable campaign. Interestingly, in our own 2nd District here in Northern Indiana, neo-Nazi GOP candidate Tony Zirkle (See article below) was allowed to run his ads that advocate a far-right viewpoint. You decide if this problematic and monopolistic policy. This writer asserts that it does.
From: The Pen <dazeylin@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, May 10, 2008 at 8:07 PM
Subject: URGENT: Comcast Is Censoring Political Content Again, Speak Out To Tell Comcast To Back Off Our Free Speech
To: dazey@briskweb.net
Comcast, which has a history of censoring political content is STILL
abusing their monopoly power to suppress political speech. Last week
in San Francisco they REFUSED to accept the new Shirley Golub TV ad,
in her congressional primary challenge against Nancy Pelosi.
Stop Comcast Censorship Action Page:
http://www.shirley08.com/petitions/pnum835.php
Apparently they did not take kindly to Golub's comparison of the
political behavior of the current Speaker of the House to a rubber
chicken, for her cowardice in not standing up to the Bush
administration. But that's not their call, and in the meantime the 3
major non-cable broadcast outlets ARE running the ad and they all
think it's a delightful hoot.
The real problem is that Shirley wanted to place these ads
specifically to support Keith Olbermann on MSNBC cable, and Comcast
by their action is making it immensely harder for her to mobilize
those who are Olbermann's viewers, her natural base. It is simply
outrageous for Comcast to refuse to air perfectly acceptable
political speech because THEY don't like the content. We must flood
them with complaints, or Olbermann himself, with his own
uncompromising commentary, may not be far behind.
The action page above will send your message of complaint to Comcast
CEO Brian Roberts, and let Keith Olbermann and MSNBC know what's
going on.
With more that 30,000 YouTube views already this amazing TV ad is
having a real impact. It was a featured news story for a full news
cycle the first day it aired. And it is only because of your
contributions that this is happening. Please watch it again, and if
you can make a donation to run even more of these spots on the
stations that are accepting them, we can really put the heat on
Comcast.
Rubber Chicken TV Spot: http://www.shirley08.com/rubber_chicken.php
You can make a real difference right now by telling Comcast that they
need to back off. And if you can make a contribution of $100 or more,
Shirley wants to send you one of the new bright orange "IMPEACH BOTH"
caps to wear proudly. And if you can be a "tell it like it is" angel
and donate $1,000 or more, Shirley will also send you one of her
custom embroidered, satin baseball award jackets with the "I'm On The
Table" message.
Keith Olberman himself has said much more unflattering things about
members of the Bush administration than calling them chickens, and
that's why we love him, for his truth telling. And it is critical for
Shirley mobilize the audience who watches Olbermann on cable, and in
particular because only on cable can she focus on her constituents
exactly within the limits of her congressional district.
The courage of Shirley Golub is a breaking news story. With your help
in a matter of days we can break her out as true national leadership
figure, and then won't Nancy Pelosi be running scared.
Paid for by Shirley Golub for Congress
Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed
to be ours, and forward this alert as widely as possible.
If you would like to get alerts like these, you can do so at
http://www.shirley08.com/in.htm
Date: Sat, May 10, 2008 at 8:07 PM
Subject: URGENT: Comcast Is Censoring Political Content Again, Speak Out To Tell Comcast To Back Off Our Free Speech
To: dazey@briskweb.net
Comcast, which has a history of censoring political content is STILL
abusing their monopoly power to suppress political speech. Last week
in San Francisco they REFUSED to accept the new Shirley Golub TV ad,
in her congressional primary challenge against Nancy Pelosi.
Stop Comcast Censorship Action Page:
http://www.shirley08.com/petitions/pnum835.php
Apparently they did not take kindly to Golub's comparison of the
political behavior of the current Speaker of the House to a rubber
chicken, for her cowardice in not standing up to the Bush
administration. But that's not their call, and in the meantime the 3
major non-cable broadcast outlets ARE running the ad and they all
think it's a delightful hoot.
The real problem is that Shirley wanted to place these ads
specifically to support Keith Olbermann on MSNBC cable, and Comcast
by their action is making it immensely harder for her to mobilize
those who are Olbermann's viewers, her natural base. It is simply
outrageous for Comcast to refuse to air perfectly acceptable
political speech because THEY don't like the content. We must flood
them with complaints, or Olbermann himself, with his own
uncompromising commentary, may not be far behind.
The action page above will send your message of complaint to Comcast
CEO Brian Roberts, and let Keith Olbermann and MSNBC know what's
going on.
With more that 30,000 YouTube views already this amazing TV ad is
having a real impact. It was a featured news story for a full news
cycle the first day it aired. And it is only because of your
contributions that this is happening. Please watch it again, and if
you can make a donation to run even more of these spots on the
stations that are accepting them, we can really put the heat on
Comcast.
Rubber Chicken TV Spot: http://www.shirley08.com/rubber_chicken.php
You can make a real difference right now by telling Comcast that they
need to back off. And if you can make a contribution of $100 or more,
Shirley wants to send you one of the new bright orange "IMPEACH BOTH"
caps to wear proudly. And if you can be a "tell it like it is" angel
and donate $1,000 or more, Shirley will also send you one of her
custom embroidered, satin baseball award jackets with the "I'm On The
Table" message.
Keith Olberman himself has said much more unflattering things about
members of the Bush administration than calling them chickens, and
that's why we love him, for his truth telling. And it is critical for
Shirley mobilize the audience who watches Olbermann on cable, and in
particular because only on cable can she focus on her constituents
exactly within the limits of her congressional district.
The courage of Shirley Golub is a breaking news story. With your help
in a matter of days we can break her out as true national leadership
figure, and then won't Nancy Pelosi be running scared.
Paid for by Shirley Golub for Congress
Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed
to be ours, and forward this alert as widely as possible.
If you would like to get alerts like these, you can do so at
http://www.shirley08.com/in.htm
Saturday, May 10, 2008
White House Study: "Teen use of pot leads to dependency, depression, and mental illness..."
Washington D.C.--Get-the-fuck outta here. Tell El Presidente that--he smoked it with a bunch of Texas baseball players. He was nuts before he ever smoked-pot, it was the bottle that made him the man he is today...OK, he's not a man at all, he's a Republican. Sorry, you got me on that one.
Republican New York Rep. "Vito" Fossella's Love Child and His Problems with Drunk Driving
"I have had a relationship with Laura Fay [Ed.-Who he called first when he was in-trouble with the incident.], with whom I have a three-year-old daughter. My personal failings and imperfections have caused enormous pain to the people I love and I am truly sorry. While I understand that there will be many questions, including those about my political future, making any political decisions right now are furthest from my mind. Over the coming weeks and months, I will to continue to do my job and I will work hard to heal the deep wounds I have caused." --Soon-to-be former NY GOP Rep. Vito Fossella on Thursday. (NYT'S City Beat, 05.08.2008)
New York State--Where is M.A.D.D. on this one? You have to love it when dozens of Republican incumbents who keep authorizing funding for the war and blocking impeachment end-up like this. It has to be said again-and-again: it's a bad time to be a Republican voter who's a true believer, the cognitive-dissonance must be excruciating.
Like the adulterous Dan Burton who issued former President Bill Clinton over 1,000 subpoenas during his own sex scandal, Fossella is busted. This time, the AP couldn't ignore the fact that he's a GOP incumbent in the coverage. The exposure came from the representative being pulled-over for running a red light, then it was discovered by the police at the scene that he was driving drunk. The rest is now becoming political history:
Fossella's personal life came apart at the seams after police stopped him for running a red light last week and charged him with drunken-driving. The arrest fueled scrutiny which led to revelations of an affair with a former Air Force officer, and a 3-year-old daughter with her. ("New York Rep. Fossella faces calls for his resignation, AP, 05.10.2008)The article isn't entirely clear on what caused the chain-reaction of exposure, but who cares? Fossella said that he was going to see his daughter who was "sick"--he forgot to say which one. It's great for the common good when a Republican--or anyone abusing office--gets caught in wrongdoing. It's possible that the soon-to-be former representative will stay in office until July 1st, simply leaving the seat empty until the November elections cycle. The GOP is likely to lose the seat.
According to a source close to Huffington Post on the Hill, Fossella cried to House Chaplain Daniel P. Coughlin on the floor of the House this week over the debacle he created for himself, his party, his constituents...oh yeah, and his legally recognized family. So much for family values. What's very interesting is where Fossella was pulled-over: Alexandria, Virginia, stomping-ground for numerous lobbyists, government contractors, and HQ for Christopher D. Baker's Shirlington Limousine. This could be nothing, but...
Alexandria's also where Ret. Col. Ronald Roughead of SAIC lives. Colonel Roughead was found by this site in the phone records of the deceased DC Madam, Deborah Jeane Palfrey. The New York Times states that Fossella is a close ally of Vice President, Richard Cheney, who was named by the DC Madam as a former client to this writer. It's unknown whether she--or Larry Flynt and Dan Moldea--could corroborate this assertion or not. Fossella was arrested the day Palfrey's body was found, hanged, in Tarpon Springs, Florida, a town just outside of Orlando.
The representative from New York City said back on May 3rd that he wasn't resigning, though it's virtually assured at this writing. His decision is expected by Monday. Like mainstream Democrats, Fossella has been a staunch supporter of the Bush administration's failed war in Iraq, as well on sundry other issues. He's definitely not bullish on social programs, just adultery and siring bastards.
The timing couldn't have been better. With the recent death-by-suicide of the DC Madam, and the Senate Ethics Committee refusing to investigate Senator David Vitter, another shoe has dropped. Vitter's home life must be hell, which is appropriate.
Party officials and strategists who would not speak publicly to avoid interceding in the case said the general preference was for Mr. Fossella to not seek re-election in November but to finish his term and avoid yet another special election in potentially difficult political territory. But many said they doubted he could survive politically and that it might be better for him and his colleagues if he quit rather than have his conduct become part of the campaign.Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the Republican leader, said Mr. Fossella had to make his own choice. “I think Mr. Fossella is going to have some decisions to make over the weekend,” Mr. Boehner told reporters. “And I would hope that and, frankly, expect that this is a decision between he, his family and his constituents.” ("Fossella Admits to Extramarital Affair," AP, 05.08.2008)
Even with the nearly week-long delay in the exposure of Fossella and his mistress--former Air Force Lt. Colonel Laura Fay--the damage to the GOP is going to be compounded. This will virtually ensure Fossella to opt for resignation, a belated ending to a political career that began in 1997, back when Americans could still afford gasoline and milk. Score another victory for the common good.
What's troubling is that Fossella's adulterous behavior is getting more attention when he should be taking the greatest heat for breaking-the-law for driving drunk, and possibly lying to uniformed Alexandria Police. A commenter at The New York Times "City Room" put it best regarding the Republicans and what they really are:
178.
I couldn't have stated it better myself. Here then, is the true face of the GOP, and where she's been for several generations. This isn't the party of Lincoln. What are they going to do with a more "enlightened" America? The race-baiting isn't working anymore, and there's nary-a-Red to bait. Terrorism isn't bringing the dividends it used to. The same goes with gay marriage and abortion. Nobody cares. It's time to put the GOP out of our misery, splintering them into legitimate, law-abiding parties. There's no reason to stop there--the Democratic Party is in great need of the same.A question keeps nagging this writer: How exactly did the congressman and the Lt. Colonel meet? Was she moonlighting as a prostitute, like in the case of Lt. Commander Rebecca Dickinson who worked for the DC Madam? Or is she like Tammy McFadden, a former Air Force nursing student who serviced Brent Wilkes at a sleepover in Hawaii with convicted former GOP Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham? Some have even said that Democratic congressman Daniel Inouye was part of their visit. Perhaps "prostitute" is just a matter of semantics in political marriages...
The AP on the Fossella bust, 05.10.2008: http://enews.earthlink.net/article/pol?guid=20080510/48251dc0_3ca6_1552620080510815608812
The New York Times on Rep. Fossella's D.W.I., 05.03.2008: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/03/nyregion/03fossella.html?_r=3&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
"Fossella Admits to an Extramarital Affair," NYT's City Room, 05.08.2008: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/08/fossella-admits-to-extramarital-affair/?hp
Native American Spiritual March Rebuffed by Native American Museum in Southern Indiana
Terre Haute, Indiana--I once lived in Terre Haute as a child, at the age of four. My memories are dim of that time, it was 1972, and my father had a job down there, probably in civil engineering. My only solid memory is being attacked by another child there in the trailer park we lived in at the time. One college acquaintance from Terre Haute once said to me he was told, "You dress like a nigger," because he wore baggy-pants.
This is why the primary results for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama are so surprising in Indiana--Terre Haute isn't exceptional in its backwardness. It's also a prison town, and there is coal mining close by. Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was executed there by lethal-injection at the federal prison (USP Terre Haute, and numerous other anagrams). Only a state like Indiana, and a town like Terre Haute could create a Eugene V. Debs, one of the most noteworthy Socialist Party and labor leaders this country will ever know.
Indiana and Terre Haute are generally an awful place, and it's doubtful that there has been any change since I was last there in 1993 when I saw the hardcore punk band M.D.C. (Millions of Dead Cops, though they change the meaning of the anagram frequently). It was a great show at the 4 Quarters Bar, and the audience was wonderful. M.D.C. did a lot of Johnny Cash covers, which we all sang-along to. The alcohol was flowing pretty liberally that night. But, that's the good-side of Terre Haute.
The air in Terre Haute is so polluted by local factories and industrial incinerators that many people there have respiratory problems, and the Ku Klux Klan has been active there for a very long time (Mishawaka and Knox are doing some catch-up here in the North). T.S. Eliop could have been writing about Terre Haute--or even Gary--when he penned "The Wasteland." Like I've said before, Michiana isn't much better, and neither is our air-quality, some of the worst in the entire continental United States. Things sure weren't like this when the Native Americans held-sway here over 200 years ago.
But, Indiana never had many "Indians," hence the name. A number of the tribes these days are making an incredible amount of money from their casinos, particularly the Pokagan band. Most settlements of Native Americans were so small here after the "great dying," that's what they were called--bands. After 1811--the Battle of Tippecanoe--things were basically over for the Native Americans in Indiana for a very long time. For Native Americans in-general, it was a signaling that they were going to all be forced westward, and their self-rule and autonomy were virtually extinct. The trail of tears wasn't far behind. Indiana truly is the crossroad of America.
There are very few full-blooded Native Americans here, and most of the descendants look white. You would barely know they were Native American at all in many cases, and some of them appear to be acting the same as the whites here who have money. The majority of them are poor, if they even know they have indigenous ancestors at all. "Hangs around the fort" has morphed into "hangs around the casino," though it's an obverse where the white Euro-Americans are doing all the flocking and gambling. Now the whites pay. This is something I like, and it's a complicated picture. But you've got to love the fact that whites are now paying the piper. We should be.
The missive below could be a corroboration of some of these observations, as the director of the museum sounds whiter than me. Dropping the word "political," or "that's politics" is a pretty common shortcut to thinking in Indiana for a specific kind of boorish slob. It wouldn't surprise me if Ms. Creedon has no Native American blood in her whatsoever. But since when did all the bands and tribes get-along?
Once something has been labeled "political" in Indiana, say-no-more, most rednecks and slobs here won't discuss it...or at least that's the way things were for most everyone before the 2006 midterms. It appears the directors of the Native American Museum have some catching-up to do, and prefer to look to a Native American past as something that's safely dead when it comes to spirituality and consciousness-raising. My guess is that Jane Creedon and the directors of the museum are afraid of losing their funding, which could be viewed as a perverse form of careerism. A culture has to be active to be alive:
----- Original Message -----
From: Bluejay Pierce
To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2008 3:04 PM
Subject: Longest Walk II DENIED press conference at Native American Museum!???????????
This message just came in from the group "Red Road Awareness" and I am now turning this one over to my companions here online. I am SHOCKED and ANGRY that a Native Museum would refuse the Longest Walk people to simply use a spot at the museum so that they could hold a press conference about this IMPORTANT event .... the Longest Walk teams have given SO MUCH for all of us in this huge effort....only to be refused a simple thing like this request. AND! by a NATIVE MUSEUM!!!!
I think we might want to let the person here know how we react to THAT kind of behavior?
hugs, Bluejay
______________________________
___
Matthew just hung up from the curator of the Native American Museum in Terre Haute named Jane Creedon... We were trying to find a place to hold a press conference to raise awareness for the walk with the media... She told Matt that she wanted nothing to do with the walk... She said it was "not their policy to get involved with any kind of political issues" and she wanted nothing to do with us or the walk and would not support it in anyway... She said they dealt only with "the people of that area, Miami, Kickapoo, Wea..." When asked if she would support one of those tribal members if they were on this walk, her answer was a resounding "NO...."
Feel free to call her and voice your opinion:
Native American Museum
5170 E Poplar Dr
Terre Haute, IN 47803
(812) 877-6007
Toksa,
Red Road Awareness
I pointed out that this is BAD ROLE MODELING for today's young. How are they supposed to find healthy activities? It's a SPIRITUAL event, not a political one exc. by default.
Matthew just hung up from the curator of the Native American Museum in Terre Haute named Jane Creedon... We were trying to find a place to hold a press conference to raise awareness for the walk with the media... She told Matt that she wanted nothing to do with the walk... She said it was "not their policy to get involved with any kind of political issues" and she wanted nothing to do with us or the walk and would not support it in anyway... She said they dealt only with "the people of that area, Miami, Kickapoo, Wea..." When asked if she would support one of those tribal members if they were on this walk, her answer was a resounding "NO...."
Feel free to call her and voice your opinion:
Native American Museum
5170 E Poplar Dr
Terre Haute, IN 47803
(812) 877-6007
Toksa,
Red Road Awareness
I pointed out that this is BAD ROLE MODELING for today's young. How are they supposed to find healthy activities? It's a SPIRITUAL event, not a political one exc. by default.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
An astrological chart of Jeane Palfrey, the "DC Madam"
WWW--I found this one in a search on-accident. Some think that there's no such thing as an "accident," I couldn't say. The chart is surprisingly accurate in its assessment of what happened to Jeane and what I happen to think some of her motivations and psychology were during those last days. My opinion, but this has all become mythic. During proceedings last Fall, I was introduced to one of her personal astrologers, an individual who claimed to be a Catholic missionary in China.
We communicated through a secured e-mail account he/she had. Jeane confirmed they were legitimate, connected to her. It was a friendly correspondence, and while I'm not a full believer in astrology, some of their readings were very illuminating. Others were dead wrong (or were they?), such as that they felt Jeane would be exonerated. Read the chart. Like the Tarot, it strikes me as being like a psychological profile rather than prophecy. That's what the original intent of such systems was supposed to be. I left a comment at the site.
An astrological chart of Deborah Jeane Palfrey: http://deathby1000papercuts.com/2008/05/dc-madam-suicide-and-astrology-was-death-written-in-the-stars/#comment-683
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
TPM and Bush administration war crimes: Who is "testing"?
Talking Points Memo--These folks at TPM are great, and were a great resource during our research into Deborah Jeane Palfrey's possible connections to convicted briber of Randy "Duke" Cunningham, Brent Wilkes, but that's another story for another time. On to TPM blogger, "Testing."
But then, there's this unknown person, writing under the pseudonym of "Testing" who's scoring some serious hits over the ongoing saga of war crimes, lost e-mails, and numerous other examples of law-breaking by the administration of George W. Bush (though Cheney's really running the show).
Not only is the analysis good, it sometimes comes-off as though someone very close to the action is doing the writing. Bravo.
"Testing's" TPM Profile, read-up: http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/05/war-crimes-evidence-doj-ag-con.php
"Amy Winehouse being held for drug possession"
UK--Who gives-a-shit?! The bitch looks like (like?) a 1960s cockney prostitute (or Atlantic City on the boardwalk) giving too much lip, and she's violent to boot. The thing is, I have more respect by-far for prostitutes and sex workers than people like her. Most of them have no choice, she does. Crack and "the horse" are for losers. She's trashy, and not in a way that's endearing.
John Waters never wanted the world to be filled with people like Divine (the character). This is not divine trash, just trash, squalor, and mindless stupidity by a selfish asshole. She's the last thing the press should be worrying about, let alone bothering to cover. At least GG Allin was rebelling against conformity, albeit in a way that can only be described as utterly shocking. Even he said something.
She doesn't, and none of this is because she's a woman. She's just really embarrassing and painful to watch. Winehouse is everything that the old girl R&B groups were accused of being, and more. Welcome to the decline. Sad: her voice isn't half-bad.
John Waters never wanted the world to be filled with people like Divine (the character). This is not divine trash, just trash, squalor, and mindless stupidity by a selfish asshole. She's the last thing the press should be worrying about, let alone bothering to cover. At least GG Allin was rebelling against conformity, albeit in a way that can only be described as utterly shocking. Even he said something.
She doesn't, and none of this is because she's a woman. She's just really embarrassing and painful to watch. Winehouse is everything that the old girl R&B groups were accused of being, and more. Welcome to the decline. Sad: her voice isn't half-bad.
The House is Attempting to Slip the Senate Version of FISA Update Bill Past the Public
Washington D.C.--This is more of the same: wait until the public has forgotten that this legislation will let the telecommunications companies off-the-hook for allowing illegal domestic surveillance through their major switching stations without a warrant from the White House.
Again, this is against the law, and retroactive immunity not only isn't going to make us safer, it's going to compromise our collective right to privacy guaranteed under the 4th amendment to the Bill of Rights. It's unconstitutional, but since when has that ever bothered this Congress or White House? This Electronic Frontier Foundation missive was forwarded to me in the last few minutes:
From: EFFector list <editor@eff.org>
Date: 2008/5/7
Subject: EFFector 21.16: Archive.org Fights FBI Demand
To:
EFFector Vol. 21, No. 16 May 7, 2008 editor@eff.org
A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
ISSN 1062-9424
: . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . :
In our 469th issue:
* THE INTERNET ARCHIVE, along with its counsel EFF and the
ACLU, successfully challenged a national security letter
issued to the Archive's digital library. The NSL, which had
unconstitutionally gagged the Archive for months, was
withdrawn, and we are now able to bring this story to the
public for the first time. This settlement -- and the
extensive dialogue about the case -- are critical
supplements to widespread reports of NSL abuse.
http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2008/05/06
* ACTION ALERT: A NEW FISA BILL is being drafted behind
closed doors. Although all may appear quiet in the House as
it publicly focuses on other major legislation, House
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has been negotiating with
Senator Rockefeller -- the architect of the terrible
Senate bill that would fully immunize lawbreaking telecoms
-- on a possible FISA "compromise".
Once a deal is struck, it could come to the House floor
with little warning. So, please contact your
Representatives now and remind them that we're watching --
and that they must not provide immunity for lawbreaking
telecoms.
http://stopthespying.org/
* ACTION ALERT: AN OUTRAGEOUS JUSTICE DEPARTMENT PROPOSAL
directs federal law enforcement agencies to collect DNA
samples from anyone they arrest. This new proposal
threatens to swell the government's DNA database with the
sensitive genetic information of innocent people --
Americans involved in peaceful political protests, for
example.
The public comment period will end on Monday, May 19, so
now's time to speak out against this proposal that turns
the principle of "innocent until proven guilty" on its
head!
http://www.eff.org/action/protectdna
: . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . :
From Deeplinks
* MSN Music Debacle Highlights EULA Dangers
Like DRM, click-through license agreements can fiddle with
your rights as a user and a consumer.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/05/msn-music-debacle-highlights-eula-dangers
* Do You Own Your Software? WoW Glider Case Not Just About
Getting to Level 70.
Glider users may irritate some World of Warcraft players,
but Blizzard is simply wrong in its attempt to call them
copyright infringers.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/05/do-you-own-your-software-wow-glider-case-not-just-
* Patent Reform Act Stalls in the Senate
Disagreement among Senate Judiciary Committee members halts
progress on patent reform legislation.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/05/patent-reform-act-stalls-senate
: . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . :
miniLinks
The week's noteworthy news, compressed.
~ Wiretaps Increase by 20%
The US government's statistics for 2007 show that (legal)
wiretap requests have increased. (Illegal wiretaps are not
included in the government's statistics.)
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080504-government-wiretapsthe-ones-we-know-aboutup-20-for-2007.html
~ Patent Court Appointees Under Question
A law professor claims to have discovered a flaw in the
appointment of patent judges -- the appointments may be
unconstitutional, calling into question thousands of patent
rulings. (log-in may be required)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/washington/06bar.html
~ Security Gaps When ISPs Hire Third Parties
The use of third parties to intercept web traffic and
direct users to advertising can open major security holes.
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/apwire/7109e033b5e429834fd4c7f324e45cf4.htm
Date: 2008/5/7
Subject: EFFector 21.16: Archive.org Fights FBI Demand
To:
EFFector Vol. 21, No. 16 May 7, 2008 editor@eff.org
A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
ISSN 1062-9424
: . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . :
In our 469th issue:
* THE INTERNET ARCHIVE, along with its counsel EFF and the
ACLU, successfully challenged a national security letter
issued to the Archive's digital library. The NSL, which had
unconstitutionally gagged the Archive for months, was
withdrawn, and we are now able to bring this story to the
public for the first time. This settlement -- and the
extensive dialogue about the case -- are critical
supplements to widespread reports of NSL abuse.
http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2008/05/06
* ACTION ALERT: A NEW FISA BILL is being drafted behind
closed doors. Although all may appear quiet in the House as
it publicly focuses on other major legislation, House
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has been negotiating with
Senator Rockefeller -- the architect of the terrible
Senate bill that would fully immunize lawbreaking telecoms
-- on a possible FISA "compromise".
Once a deal is struck, it could come to the House floor
with little warning. So, please contact your
Representatives now and remind them that we're watching --
and that they must not provide immunity for lawbreaking
telecoms.
http://stopthespying.org/
* ACTION ALERT: AN OUTRAGEOUS JUSTICE DEPARTMENT PROPOSAL
directs federal law enforcement agencies to collect DNA
samples from anyone they arrest. This new proposal
threatens to swell the government's DNA database with the
sensitive genetic information of innocent people --
Americans involved in peaceful political protests, for
example.
The public comment period will end on Monday, May 19, so
now's time to speak out against this proposal that turns
the principle of "innocent until proven guilty" on its
head!
http://www.eff.org/action/protectdna
: . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . :
From Deeplinks
* MSN Music Debacle Highlights EULA Dangers
Like DRM, click-through license agreements can fiddle with
your rights as a user and a consumer.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/05/msn-music-debacle-highlights-eula-dangers
* Do You Own Your Software? WoW Glider Case Not Just About
Getting to Level 70.
Glider users may irritate some World of Warcraft players,
but Blizzard is simply wrong in its attempt to call them
copyright infringers.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/05/do-you-own-your-software-wow-glider-case-not-just-
* Patent Reform Act Stalls in the Senate
Disagreement among Senate Judiciary Committee members halts
progress on patent reform legislation.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/05/patent-reform-act-stalls-senate
: . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . :
miniLinks
The week's noteworthy news, compressed.
~ Wiretaps Increase by 20%
The US government's statistics for 2007 show that (legal)
wiretap requests have increased. (Illegal wiretaps are not
included in the government's statistics.)
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080504-government-wiretapsthe-ones-we-know-aboutup-20-for-2007.html
~ Patent Court Appointees Under Question
A law professor claims to have discovered a flaw in the
appointment of patent judges -- the appointments may be
unconstitutional, calling into question thousands of patent
rulings. (log-in may be required)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/washington/06bar.html
~ Security Gaps When ISPs Hire Third Parties
The use of third parties to intercept web traffic and
direct users to advertising can open major security holes.
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/apwire/7109e033b5e429834fd4c7f324e45cf4.htm
OK Indiana, you upset my expectations with the primaries, but I was still right.
Indiana's 2nd District--Say what you want, but Indiana and my own voting district has miraculously made me proud. OK, it wasn't all that miraculous: even racist Hoosiers know that Clinton isn't going to fix anything, and that we're going to get more of the same from her and the McInsane, that guy with a hair-trigger temper and a yen for making Beach Boys songs into hymnals for bombing Iran. The difference between George W. Bush, Hilliary Clinton, and John McCain is: nada, zip, zero.
The good news:My own district, and the county I live in (St. Joseph) voted predominantly for Barack Obama. That's saying something, as this isn't a particularly enlightened region--Michiana--but we've got the nuts outnumbered, an obverse to the 19th century when Abolitionists who ferried runaway slaves through here were the minority. Attitudes have changed significantly, and we're moving in a better direction. It hurts to write this again, but we're improving as the WWII generation dies-out. So the wheel turns, the real meaning of "revolution."
Predictably, National Socialist (GOP) candidate Tony Zirkle (see article below) lost in the primary race, but received an appallingly-high vote of nearly 6,000. It takes a very motivated racist to vote for someone as clearly insane as Zirkle, but we have them outnumbered. They're a fringe-phenomena, and it's enjoyable to watch the candidate waste his own money with his personal lost-cause of theocratic white supremacy.
Emigrantes mexicanos, tengai cuidado! Tony Zirkle es un abogado que no actuará en el mejor de vuestros intereses, el es contra los emigrantes!
Hilliary Clinton received just a barely 2% margin-of-victory over Barack Obama, which is considerably less than her "victory" in Pennsylvania. It's not going to be enough for her to prevail. We can thank her and the mainstream media for the paltry 2%. They hammered-home the Rev. Wright story again-and-again, going well beyond "heavy rotation." If it seemed like the GOP echo-chamber, that's because it was.
The Indiana count: At this writing, candidate Clinton holds 643, 442 votes (51%), while candidate Obama holds 629, 029 (49%). Clinton has garnered 37 delegates, while Obama has earned 33, but today Obama received the superdelegate endorsement of George McGovern. This comes from CNN, with 99% reporting. That's hardly a victory for Senator Hillary Clinton at all. It doesn't help her overall, and today we're hearing that she's dipping into her massive savings for $5.6 million as a "loan" to her campaign.
How does one loan oneself money, and is she good for it? Thank heavens for stupid girls, because stupid girls vote Clinton everyday. We're the state of Eugene Debs and New Harmony. It's just that we keep trying to forget. How did I vote? Obama. Rep. Joe Donnelly got no vote, and never will again for standing with President Bush on Iraq, and for helping block impeachment.
Donnelly needs to go, but there's no viable Democratic or third party candidates running against him (take that, Steve Francis). The one Republican who was for a withdrawal from Iraq (his name was Roush) lost along with Tony Zirkle. I would have voted for Mr. Roush over Joe Donnelly any day.
Indiana's Election results as of 3:38PM: http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/state/#IN
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Jackass of the Month: DC Madam's Former Condo Manager, Joe Strizack
Orlando, Florida--No, it's not Alex Jones, but the same kind of vulture. Proving that the parapolitical is a great way to get attention (and dollars), Joe Strizack is making-the-rounds of everyone with a working-microphone, lunch, and some cab money, telling us that Jeane Palfrey was "afraid for her life."
This is untrue, and it's unlikely that Strizack met her more than a few times in-person (I never did, our correspondence was via-e-mail, and a few phone calls). It's even doubtful that he talked to her personally.
He's doing what Larry Flynt, Alex Jones (whose show he spoke on), and the rest of the Internet and media are doing: milking a horrible tragedy for as much money and advertising as they can. Mr. Strizack is a liar and a blackguard. Never mind the wild leaps of logic it requires to believe there's a conspiracy in Jeane's death, and forget that the courts already did all of the real work in destroying her--"she was murdered." [Ed. 04.05.2010--Correction, it would be "She were murdered."]
I understand that thinking hurts, and that there is no "bottom" for how low human beings can sink, but there's more to this mad dash towards a conspiracy: most casual-onlookers cannot understand the story, and neither could the mainstream press. Most people cannot think about more than one concept at once. Nothing new here, move along.
Things will die down, and nobody will remember the vapid Strizack or the stupid remarks he has made--lies--about Jeane Palfrey and his very casual association with her. Now, if only we could all forget Larry Flynt, but that's impossible, since he's that untreatable form of the clap. One has to wonder if he's going to bother releasing those other names from her phone records that I trumped hydraulic-man on: John McCain, Dick Cheney, and Fred Thompson.
Conspiracism: what a cottage industry. So much for the truth, but since when did most of humanity ever care about that? You think Rob Capriccioso has jumped on the bandwagon of untruth and wild exaggeration? It's even money. Here's hoping that his blog at least got him laid.
Author Bill Keisling's Farewell to Jeane
Yarbird Books Home--Bill Keisling has written a very moving and poignant goodbye to Deborah Jeane Palfrey. You can find it at the link below. Read it and weep.
"Farewell, Deborah Jeane," by Bill Keisling:
http://www.yardbird.com/reform_usa_Farewell_Deborah_Jeane_Palfrey.htm
[Ed., 09.13.2008-I have to question the sincerity of Mr. Keisling on this now based on past conversations with him regarding Palfrey.]
http://www.yardbird.com/reform_usa_Farewell_Deborah_Jeane_Palfrey.htm
[Ed., 09.13.2008-I have to question the sincerity of Mr. Keisling on this now based on past conversations with him regarding Palfrey.]
Jeane Palfrey's Suicide Notes
Tarpon Springs, Florida--I believe that these notes are genuine, and without question Jeane's final testament to her life and her family. To say otherwise is to speculate and to dishonor the dead when there's no evidence to contradict the obvious fact that Deborah Jeane Palfrey committed suicide rather than return to prison.
Do I care what others think? Not really, few of you were involved in this story as I and others were (and still are). Decide for yourselves what these letters are saying. Many of you will get it wrong, but that's to be expected. Interestingly, the vast majority of the mainstream media and the blogs, comment-threads, and whatnot, have missed one of the most important lines in her mother's letter: "There is a little surprise waiting for you in the BOA [Bank of America] account."
It's a little unclear whether the DOJ was aware of these funds. Palfrey seems to have brought them to her mother's attention to facilitate financial closure and to pay for whatever costs the deceased was leaving behind. Now leave the Palfrey family alone, they deserve their privacy. The circus is over.
PDFs of the Suicide Notes: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/05/05/ST2008050501054.html
Do I care what others think? Not really, few of you were involved in this story as I and others were (and still are). Decide for yourselves what these letters are saying. Many of you will get it wrong, but that's to be expected. Interestingly, the vast majority of the mainstream media and the blogs, comment-threads, and whatnot, have missed one of the most important lines in her mother's letter: "There is a little surprise waiting for you in the BOA [Bank of America] account."
It's a little unclear whether the DOJ was aware of these funds. Palfrey seems to have brought them to her mother's attention to facilitate financial closure and to pay for whatever costs the deceased was leaving behind. Now leave the Palfrey family alone, they deserve their privacy. The circus is over.
PDFs of the Suicide Notes: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/05/05/ST2008050501054.html
The Democratic Primaries in Indiana: Will Racism Trump Sexism?
Indiana's 2nd District--My prediction is that Hoosiers will live-down to their already poor reputation and pick Hillary Clinton for the Democratic candidate for president. Racism is likely more entrenched here than sexism (which is very healthy here, but...). The majority of Hoosiers--I just live here--are going to continue to be wrong-headed in their politics. Nothing new here, move along.
Monday, May 05, 2008
May 2nd Joint Abatement Filing by Palfrey Defense & D.C. Prosecutors
"Do not revive. Do not feed under any circumstances."
--Jeane Palfrey, April 25th, 2008.
Washington D.C.--This was forwarded to me by a source close to the case. Many thanks go to them. This is in anticipation of a motion of abatement filing by the federal prosecutor, Jeffrey A. Taylor and his group of Assistant U.S. Attorneys, but has been filed jointly by the defense with them.
When an individual is convicted of a federal crime and they die before sentencing, the record is officially wiped-clean, as in the case of the late Ken Lay of Enron who died in early-July of 2006. It's likely that the Palfrey family will have the assets of the deceased returned from forfeiture, but my source says that it's "complicated." I wish them victory, and recognize that this will be cold comfort after what has happened. My deepest condolences go out to them.
The abatement was filed on May 2nd, the day after Jeane committed suicide. The layout of the filing has been changed, the text has not. Today, it appears that the contents of her suicide notes are beginning to surface. It's hoped that the psychological weight of all of this haunts the Government's prosecutors for decades-to-come, my humble curse. Without being too prolix:
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CRIMINAL NO. 07-046 (JR)
V.
DEBORAH JEANE PALFREY,
Defendant. :
JOINT SUGGESTION OF DEATH AND ANTICIPATION
OF MOTION FOR ABATEMENT OF PROSECUTION
OF MOTION FOR ABATEMENT OF PROSECUTION
The United States of America, by and through its attorney, the United States Attorney for the
District of Columbia, in consultation with and with the concurrence of counsel for defendant, Preston Burton, herewith files this joint suggestion of death. The parties file this suggestion on information and belief that defendant, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, died on or about May 1, 2008. Once the certificate of death is received, the parties will jointly move to abate the prosecution.
A defendant’s death is a basis for abatement of all prosecution proceedings from their
inception. Durham v. United States, 401 U.S. 481, 483 (1971); United States v, Asset, 990 F.2d 208, 211 (5th Cir. 1992) (death of defendant before entry of judgment abates prosecution ab initio); United States v. Oberlin, 718 F.2d 894, 896 (9th Cir. 1983) (similar holding); cf. United States v. Pogue, 19 F.3d 663 (D.C. Cir. 1994) (death pending direct appeal abates prosecution); Howell v. United States, 445 A.2d 1371, 1373 (D.C. 1983) (quoting Howell).
In light of the apparent recent death of defendant and in anticipation of the resulting joint
motion for abatement of prosecution, the parties request that the Court stay the need for either party to file any pleadings that are coming due for a response in the interim. Furthermore, defense counsel requests that he be authorized to contact the defendant’s family and representatives of her Estate in[...]
[Page break]Case 1:07-cr-00046-JR Document 312 Filed 05/02/2008 Page 1 of 2
[Page]2
connection with matters related to the criminal and civil forfeiture proceedings before the Court. The United States does not object to defense counsel’s request.
Respectfully submitted,
JEFFREY A. TAYLOR
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
DC Bar No. 498610
JEFFREY A. TAYLOR
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
DC Bar No. 498610
/ s /
Daniel P. Butler
DC Bar No. 417178
Catherine K. Connelly
Mass. Bar No. 649430
William R. Cowden
DC Bar No. 426401
Assistant United States Attorneys
555 4th Street, N.W.
(202) 353-9431, 616-3384
Washington, D.C. 20530
Daniel.Butler@usdoj.gov
Catherine.Connelly2@usdoj.gov
William.Cowden@usdoj.gov
/ s /
_______________________________
Preston Burton, Esq., D.C. Bar No. 426378
ORRICK, HERRINGTON & SUTCLIFF, LLP
1152 15th St., NW
Washington, D.C. 20005
(202) 339-8400
Daniel P. Butler
DC Bar No. 417178
Catherine K. Connelly
Mass. Bar No. 649430
William R. Cowden
DC Bar No. 426401
Assistant United States Attorneys
555 4th Street, N.W.
(202) 353-9431, 616-3384
Washington, D.C. 20530
Daniel.Butler@usdoj.gov
Catherine.Connelly2@usdoj.gov
William.Cowden@usdoj.gov
/ s /
_______________________________
Preston Burton, Esq., D.C. Bar No. 426378
ORRICK, HERRINGTON & SUTCLIFF, LLP
1152 15th St., NW
Washington, D.C. 20005
(202) 339-8400
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
2008
“Here we go again–just one more case that reveals the hypocrisy in the self-righteous Republicans’ supposed monopoly on “family values!!”
— Posted by Kathy ”
It’s all rather simple. The republicans in reality represent the interest of the “business class” and the wealthy and the fact that there are not enough of those groups to get them in office they use the social issues to get people to vote against their own interest. :)
— Posted by Jon ("Fossella Admits to an Extramarital Affair," NYT's City Room, 05.08.2008 )