Kristoff on evangelicals
He says they are NOT like fundamentalists! That is an interesting twist. Pro-condom, that sort of thing.
The evangelicals abroad are mostly pragmatists, not ideologues, so they should be a good influence on the Christian Right. While fundamentalists in America blindly oppose condom distribution, evangelicals in Africa see their friends dying of AIDS. They thunder against sexual immorality � but often hand out condoms.

"We don't condone adultery, but we're pragmatic enough to see the country we live in," said Steven Lazar, who runs Iris Ministries' orphanage. He notes that in nearly all of the Christian weddings he attends in Mozambique, the bride is pregnant.

One of the evangelicals' most important influences is in combating the second-class status of women and girls by evangelizing not only for God, but also for equality of the sexes.

Pentecostalists, who make up one of the fastest-growing sects, preach faith healing and raising from the dead, but they also give a substantial voice in church to ordinary village women. And that in turn empowers women in the home and community.

"In our Mozambican culture, women don't have an active voice in the family," explained Ana Zaida, who teaches Bible school. "But in Christian life, we discover that not just the husband but also the wife can have a role. . . . So the wives fight to transform their husbands."

At the end of my interview, Mr. Lazar prayed for me � and came pretty close to asking the Almighty to ensure that I wrote a nice column. The episode underscored the difference between my world and his.

Yet while it sounds strange to say so, evangelicals may be Africa's most important feminist influence today. And how can one not welcome their growing presence as Ms. Angeline tells of her rescue and cradles a lovely baby girl � not surprisingly, named Katrin.

The Presidential Bubble
NY Times Editorial Published: September 25, 2003
Four progressive political groups sued the Bush administration this week, charging that the Secret Service is systematically keeping protesters away from the president's public appearances. They make a serious point about free speech rights, but they also point out a disturbing aspect of the Bush White House: the country has a chief executive who seems to embrace the presidential bubble.... ...more
George Bush: perpetual coward. At least that solves the problem of having to run away. (This is the guy that said "bring 'em on!" and did a staged landing on an aircraft carrier almost within surfing distance of the beach..

If I were an Iraqi, and an occupying force took over my country and set rules for internation trade and ownership of my country, I would oppose it, and would certainly support those who also opposed it.
As I have no vote, my means of opposing are limited. All I could offer was my support.
As an American, I cannot provide any material support. But absent a new Alien and Sedition Act, and the presense of the First Amendment which protects speech, I can still express myself.
Question: which of the following statements might be subject to prosecution under the Patriot Act:
US get out of Iraq NOW!
Down with King George Bush!
Support Iraqi freedom: get the US out.
Oppose the US occupation!
Answer: I don't know. And neither do you.

We have a president to daily does damage to the country. He will continue to do damage to the country until he is out of office.
What the hell does the country do between then and now?
Treason? Impeachment?
We cannot sit idly by while the country is driven to ruin.
Treason? Impleachment? Revolution?

My dear Mr. Brooks:
The gentle occupying force has just decided that foreign ownership of everything in Iraq is OK! Everything!
Can you say "banana republic"..
Oh, they excepted oil. That's because as the occupying force, the US already owns that, and that's the only part Bush's close friends want, just for now, all to themselves. The rest they are willing to scramble for with the rest of them.
Caught in the Iraqi Dramatics

By DAVID BROOKS The good things that are happening in Iraq are taking place far below the level of grand strategy. On Sunday, 18 bankers and civil servants from 11 central and Eastern European countries came to Iraq to describe the lessons they had learned in moving from tyranny to democracy. Every day, U.N. humanitarian workers, far removed from the marble halls of the Security Council, risk their lives to feed and clothe Iraqis. Every day, U.S. military officers spend millions of dollars building schools and tackling neighborhood issues. That's the work that gives Iraqis hope. Seventy percent of Iraqis expect their lives to improve over the next five years, and two-thirds want coalition forces to stay for at least a year, according to a recent Zogby poll.

Over the long term, we need to create an apolitical reservist force, made up of of businesspeople, administrators and police officers who have concrete experience in moving societies from dictatorship to democracy. In the meantime, we need to focus on serving the Iraqis first, second and last. We don't need to get caught up in a distracting round of lofty debates among the world's Walter Mitty Metternichs, who treat the Iraqi people as pawns in their great game-power struggles.

Iraq for sale: cheap. Inquire Bush & Co.
Economic Overhaul for Iraq
Only Oil Excluded From Foreign Ownership
By Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, September 22, 2003; Page A01
..."The new policy, enacted on Saturday by U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer, allows foreign firms to enter and potentially dominate key elements of the economy*, from banking to manufacturing, that had been off-limits to outside ownership. "...

*Duh!

NOW I'm pissed at Clinton and I still don't like Wesley.
Clintons Anoint Clark
By WILLIAM SAFIRE
WASHINGTON
The Clintons decided that the Democratic primary campaign was getting out of hand. Howard Dean was getting all the buzz and too much of the passionate left's money. Word was out that Dean as nominee, owing Clintonites nothing, would quickly dump Terry McAuliffe, through whom Bill and Hillary maintain control of the Democratic National Committee

Todays News, Todays Not News

Todays News (again): bomb, Iraq, blah,blah, dead, injured, blah.
What wasn't covered today (again) not one single nice thing. Not one fucking thing.Certainly NOT in Iraq. Oh, and NONE of the bad things that did NOT happen because something was better.
The whole notion of "news" seems just plain stupid!

Four-Star Disappointment?
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, September 22, 2003; 8:27 AM

"Wesley Clark's media honeymoon lasted less than a day. "
GMB: Personally, I'm for respectfully squashing his candidacy, in favor of Dean. Enough of this military crap.

Introduction to Ad Hominem Fallacies
This reads like a primer on how the GOP operates (attack the person)

Oooops. We do know who is responsible for the laspses leading to 9/11: Bush.
The Clinton administration delivered a fully defined anti terrorism plan with focus on Bin Laden, ready to go, but held back (12/20/2000): the Clinton administration did NOT want to hand the incoming administration a war in progress.
But EVERYTHING of Clinton/Gore was considered trash, including the anti-terrorism plan (remember the push for high tech anti-misile deployment). Everything, which included the economy, the environment, foreign affairs.
Bush scorned and trashed this country's plan: it was easier to create a new and simple mindless one than actually learn something. Bush ignored the US defense plan for 9 months and has spent two years defining a new one which is nowhere as good as what he had.
Could 9/11 have been prevented: yes. Absolutely.
ref: (In what would seem to be a humorous book, THIS is NOT funny)
Al Franken, Lies and the lying liars who tell them, pp 115-116

Saturday, September 20, 2003 All Things Considered, posted after 7:30 est.
Last week, two imams traveled to Florida on a mission to speak out against Islamic fanaticism. But U.S. customs officials stopped them, interrogated them for 16 hours, jailed them and sent them home to Canada. We'll bring you a report on the struggle of Islam's reformers in North America.
GMB: Damn! Canada has So much good stuff happening, they're exporting it! Thanks, good neighbors. Audio link
We hear from an Islamlid leader and lawyer in Floriday who argued (and won) for the state that the request by an Islamic woman to have her face covered in her drivers liscence must be denied and was not an intrustion into her relgious freedom. Muslims are called to be Americans, part of the fabric, not outside.

Bush admittedly kidnapped the United States! Hints at willingness to cooperate in exchange only for full immunity AND wants to be re-elected. here

This is IT! (or at least it was)
Bellow's character, Augie March, (The Adventures of Augie March, by Saul Bellow) grew up in a single-parent household but never settled for the near at hand. America to him meant the "universal eligibility to be noble."

I really have to wonder at just how inept the Bush government is... or is everyone just pussy-whipped by the press. Hmm: how about this: the Bush administration WANTS the nasty stuff to go in Iraq or at least to be reported as such:
1) it keeps the US electorate occupied
2) it justifies huge huge huge raids on the treasury.
here
So, who are the fools? (hint: the very wealthy are sure to make money)
Trust it'll all be sweet just around election time. (see hint, above)
Peaceful City Shows Another Side to Postwar Iraq
Fri September 19, 2003 11:11 AM ET
By Saul Hudson
KUT, Iraq (Reuters) - Battlefield Iraq: bombs in Baghdad, mobs in Falluja, ambushed Americans in Tikrit, and in the eastern city of Kut, peace and quiet.

Setting the record straight: #1 in an unspecified series.
There is NO proof that Bush EVER lied to the American Public or anyone else about sex!

Any allusion to any principles attributed to Bush is repudiated: he is free of any such encumbrances.
(Also, recent discovery of massive bones of massive rodent bear no significant DNA resemblance to Bush.)
here
Steel Tariffs Appear to Have Backfired on Bush
Move to Aid Mills and Gain Votes in 2 States Is Called Political and Economic Mistake
By Mike Allen and Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, September 19, 2003; Page A01

John Ahscroft HAS NOT USED many of the dangerous parts of the Patriot act yet!!!
here
What IS all the hubub about???

Heavy rain and wind from Isabel hits DC. Bush goes into hiding.

Good ol' deep thinking ever so helpful Friedman!
Our War With France
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
It's time we Americans came to terms with something: France is not just our annoying ally. It is not just our jealous rival. France is becoming our enemy.
GMB: hey! Friedman! WE are the enemy!
War???? War??????

New Terror Laws Used Vs. Common Criminals
By DAVID B. CARUSO
Associated Press Writer
Sep 14, 1:16 PM EDT
spray cans and things that go boom
Federal prosecutors used the act in June to file a charge of "terrorism using a weapon of mass destruction" against a California man after a pipe bomb exploded in his lap, wounding him as he sat in his car.
New Terror Laws Used Vs. Common Criminals Prosecutor Jerry Wilson says he isn't abusing the law, which defines chemical weapons of mass destruction as "any substance that is designed or has the capability to cause death or serious injury" and contains toxic chemicals.
GMB: hmm. wonder about abortion clinic bombs? Are those weapons of liberation?

Can't quite get it out there: Iraq had nothing to do the 9/11. Seems like he hasn't told the vice president?
Ach! But who believes anything Bush says ?
Bush: No Iraqi link to Sept. 11
Backs away from Cheney remarks, public perception
By Bob Kemper
Washington Bureau
Published September 18, 2003, 8:23 AM CDT

WASHINGTON -- President Bush declared Wednesday that he has no evidence linking Iraq to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, contradicting comments made by Vice President Dick Cheney last weekend and an impression held by a solid majority of Americans.

LEONARD PITTS JR.: Rodney King's character isn't the point
BY LEONARD PITTS JR.
September 17, 2003

says Pitts

An open letter to Leonard Pitts (says me):

It ain't perfect, but we better keep working on the �who�s�....
And you tell your kids, as I do mine, that you�d better be a �who� and that�s the way you contribute to the �what�s� of the world. Those that don�t tell that truth are a big part of the problem! Damn!
That�s the way life works. Not just human beings, life.
You can argue about it, but that�s the way it works. Living creatures behave that way. At least the carbon based forms do, I can�t speak to the others.
It has been and will always be the exceptional people in our group that pull us all forward.
I mean shit, Rodney King pulled himself AND everybody else down. And you hook YOUR wagon to him? Duh!
Rodney was pulled down at least as much for who he was as for what he was. And you know what: he hasn�t changed WHO he is one little bit. You pick some example for the �whats�.
And I�ll tell you something else that you had better pick up on: its was not in any American�s interest, white or black, to have Rodney King be allowed to continue to be an asshole. Lemme tell you how THAT hurts the �whats�: YOU should NOT have permitted him to fail. Yeah, you personally. Because YOU are the man who just wrote about him.
�Blacks for Rodney King� is like �Jews for Pollard� and other loosing causes.
Uh uh: you screw up (and I mean really screw up) in my �what� group, I�m gonna cut you loose.

Gerald Berke

NO! to Clark! Clark Will Announce Run for Presidency
Retired General Joins 9 Democrats in Race
Retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark leaves state Democratic Party headquarters in Little Rock yesterday after a brief meeting with supporters. (Steve Keesee -- Arkansas Democrat-gazette Via AP)
By Jim VandeHei
Wednesday, September 17, 2003; Page A01
"Washington Post Staff Writer Yet Clark has never run for political office or offered his views on domestic concerns such as the economy and unemployment, issues that often dominate presidential elections. "
GMB:The real kingmaker in this is Richardson: whoever he signs up with as VP, that's the winner for the primary. I hope he'll sign up with Dean.
Clark is not ready for the presidency.

Sperm Made from Stem Cells
Development in Mice Raises Issues for Human Reproduction
By Rick Weiss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 16, 2003; Page A12
Scientists in Japan have transformed ordinary mouse embryo cells into sperm cells, marking the first time those specialized sex cells have been cultivated in the laboratory.
I hope somebody gets the formula down for "nice person" before they go too far

A pissed as I might get at Glenn at instapundit.com , you just HAVE to go there: he distills huge amounts of information and gives you a link to. (You can generally tell from the brief lines he has about the link whether its going to suck or not, and that's all you really need... so, its quick)
But heres the story Reporters for big media played suck up and kiss ass in Iraq
They did NOT report squat.
SEPTEMBER 15, 2003
John Burns: 'There Is Corruption in Our Business'
'NY Times' Writer on the Terror of Baghdad

The following are the words of New York Times correspondent John F. Burns, on his experiences reporting from Baghdad during the war. Excerpted from the book Embedded: The Media at War in Iraq, an Oral History by Bill Katovsky and Timothy Carlson, published this week by The Lyons Press, used with permission.
"There were correspondents who thought it appropriate to seek the approbation of the people who governed their lives. This was the ministry of information, and particularly the director of the ministry. By taking him out for long candlelit dinners, plying him with sweet cakes, plying him with mobile phones at $600 each for members of his family, and giving bribes of thousands of dollars. Senior members of the information ministry took hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes from these television correspondents who then behaved as if they were in Belgium. They never mentioned the function of minders. Never mentioned terror. "

First black American president. He has set the bar very high.
William Jefferson Clinton
I like the church he goes to.

In the modern world of complex structured investments and agreements, it came down to this:
an honest man
"In the end, it was about personal relationships. The changing of the guard, and especially Tom Hannigan's presence, meant everything," ... and the Catholic Church settled the claims...

It's a bird, its a plane, its
Richardson Bill Richardson, Looming Large
The Democrats' Hot Property Is Everywhere but on a Ticket

By Mark Leibovich
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, September 14, 2003; Page D01

(I came back to edit this one, to mark it: it is important!)
Bernard-Henri Levy, the author of "Who Killed Daniel Pearl".... brilliant French author journalist.
Evil, he said, is the belief that evil can be erradicated, utterly destroyed, and therefor there is no stopping them! That something can be made utterly pure.
Brilliant!! Amazing!
(he rather scoffed at GW Bush use of the word, indeed, his great shallowness of understanding of the real philosophical meaning)
He referred to himself, with a smile, as a "free French writer", meaning, who can touch me? Who could threaten me? I am a free French writer!

Courtesy of the Global Economy. phooey

I sure don't feel bad about downloading

The artist Moby, on his Web site, offered a similar opinion, suggesting that the music companies treat users of file-sharing services like fans instead of criminals. "How can a 14-year-old who has an allowance of $5 a week feel bad about downloading music produced by multimillionaire musicians and greedy record companies," he wrote. "The record companies should approach that 14-year-old and say: `Hey, it's g"reat that you love music. Instead of downloading music for free, why don't you try this very inexpensive service that will enable you to listen to a lot of music and also have access to unreleased tracks and ticket discounts and free merchandise?' "

An open letter to Wesley Clark re: Michael Moore likes you and thinks you should run
This article is VERY unflattering.

If you're going into combat, you have to do more that put your hat up in the air on a stick. At this point, I'm not even sure I'd like you as VP. Get out there, get seen, get working, take your shots.

Bush is a looser, unless we snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. He has handed us, at our own great cost, a foolish battle, poor trade, poor international relations, bad energy and economy... Saddam himself could not have accomplished more. If there ever was a president I would turn Joe McCarthy loose on, its Bush: can anybody be so perfectly bad without working on it?

Meantime, I'll be damned if I'll get off the Dean horse, who is in the race, to get on you, who has not even circled the track. You and Michael Moore.

Gephardt quickly falls from the Democratic presidential race, following Lieberman
Gephardt Shifts Attacks to Dean
Sharp Criticism On Medicare Issue Intensifies Race
Howard Dean sided with GOP on Medicare and Social Security cuts, Rep. Richard Gephardt (Mo.) said. (Charlie Neibergall -- AP)
By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 13, 2003; Page A08
In a statement issued by his campaign, Dean accused Gephardt of engaging in the "politics of the past" and that he was "deeply saddened" by the attack from someone he considered a friend.
"It is a sad day for Dick Gephardt when he compares ANY Democratic candidate running for President to Newt Gingrich and his divisive policies," Dean said. "No Democrat in the presidential race bears any resemblance to Newt Gingrich on any major issue. And for Dick Gephardt to suggest otherwise is simply beyond the pale."

George Bush: saving Americans from the boogey man.
(Do you believe in the boogey man ???)

For those Americans that believe in the boogey man: congratulations. Bush is the perfect president for you.
Hey! Are there ANY grownups out there???

Maybe only Paul Krassner could write about the narcisistic events of 9/11, a made for TV tragedy. We watch ourselved die over and over again, from different angles, we see the planes, we tell the stories, and we die again. Our deaths are special (your deaths are not?) Maybe a so called man of god someplace is telling his flock that god didn't do it, god didn't save anyone, god didn't kill anyone. That's just how we deal with it. Maybe we shouldn't tell the kids, but the elders know.
Death is the same. Whether it comes crashing down from 110 stories on from the second floor when there's and earthquake in Turkey or the Iraeli's do some pre-settlement land improvement and its only the ceiling that crushes you.
Good people die, sometimes by bad people, sometimes by bad people who think they are good, sometimes by good people who we think are bad.
The safest solution: don't anyone kill anyone.
Please.
Really, please don't.

You simply cannot find on honest, ballsy editorial review on the Bush bullshit address. Not in this country.
But try the rest of the world.

The NY Times editorial on 9/11 blah blah blah
This is not up to the standards of a high school graduation address. What a sop.

George Bush, sponsoring terrorism. Period.
State Questions Military Tolerance of Iranian Dissidents

By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 11, 2003; Page A19

The State Department has expressed concern to the Pentagon that the U.S. military appears to have allowed an Iraq-based Iranian opposition group to continue its activities against the Iranian government, including crossing into Iran to conduct attacks, despite an order from President Bush that the group be disarmed, administration officials said yesterday.

Harvard Book Store Author Series Presents:
Tracy Kidder
Harvard Book Store is pleased to announce that on Wednesday, September 17th Tracy Kidder will be speaking about his new book, Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Save the World . At the center of this wonderful book stands Paul Farmer, a Harvard professor, a renowned infectious-disease expert and anthropologist, a man who refuses to accept conventional wisdom about what is possible and who practices more than he preaches. Moving from Harvard to Haiti, to Peru, Cuba, and Russia, Mountains Beyond Mountains reveals how change can be fostered through the story of one man doing all he can to heal the world.

The towers are coming! The towers are coming!
www.stoptower.com
An open letter to the Woodstock Times
I am one who would like better cell communication in this area.
The reason we don't have it is because the telecoms don't see the money. Yet.
But if they do and when they do, they will put a tower up wherever and of whatever size and kind they like, and they do NOT have to ask anyone: federal law protects them and supercedes all state and local law (welcome to the global economy cum banana republic).

See www.stoptower.com. Don't have to keep reinventing wheels.

Nice community in the Denver area is another T-Mobile ground zero site for a stealth cell pole. Its an up and coming community but it didn�t get rich and white fast enough. I don�t mean Woodstock rich, that�s peanuts: I mean Republican conservative rich.
This is one place Woodstock should be ahead of the curve: a tower will come. If and when it comes, where does Woodstock want it to be?

Gerald Berke
Woodstock

Yes, that's what will instill confidence in our unbiased resolve in the middle east: an orthodox Jew. Duh!
Come on! You have to admit that at least has the appearence of a certain tilt! (Try putting an Arab up for president: Fair and Balanced, right?)

Lieberman attacks Dean

By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 10, 2003; Page A01

BALTIMORE, Sept. 9 -- Former Vermont governor Howard Dean and Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.) clashed sharply here tonight over the Middle East in a lively Democratic debate, with Lieberman charging that Dean would recklessly reverse half a century of U.S. policy and Dean accusing his rival of demagoguery.

PBS news hour, Jim Lehrer, interviewed Kissenger tonight. Of course I rushed to turnoff the TV. What a miserable, low class thing to do: interview Kissenger. He is without dispute a war criminal.

An open letter to WAMC on its question: does globalization have a positive effect on the world.

I think your question draws us into a philosophical trap, and should not be asked. What you are asking is: shall we tolerate unconscionable abuses by weighing them against certain benefits? The answer is �Absolutely NOT.� The basic position must be that the process that includes the abuses shall be held of NO value unless and until it is ridded of abuses.

We can agree that the examples of these failures, "Sophie's choice", the use of Nazi medical experiments (the answer to this last question was in fact "No") are extreme, but they have the advantage of clarity. Is the average of scalding water and ice a nice average temperature when the average is truly never perceived? Someone gets ice, someone gets scalded and the average is just a mathematical possibility.
Slavery, for example, sprung from global trade a century ago: it simply could NOT have existed without globalization, courtesy of the Arabs and then perfected by the Portuguese and later the new world and American ingenuity who discovered that cotton was a great place to use this cheap foreign resource.
The question that might be asked is "what are the critical abuses of global trade that must be obliterated before it can be placed on the table for consideration." We are biological, human, and we understand cause and effect. Globalization by its nature deprives us of seeing that relation, and is an invitation to strip mining the world, the population.The hands of lepers are deformed largely because they have lost the nerve endings in their limbs and cannot feel pain and consequently do some horrendous damage to themselves without any feedback, without knowing.

You are thinking about the unthinkable in a public place, and that is irresponsible. You weaken the shock value, you weaken our defense again such offenses. NO trade, much less globalization, should be considered unless and until the process is certified free of abuses.

Ask a different question!

Gerald Berke
Political_data.blogspot.com

They had better hurry up or risk "liberation."
IAEA Cites Iran On Uranium Work
Report Says Weapons Effort Is Cloaked
By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 9, 2003; Page A0
GMB: nukes may be the ONLY defensive weapon against the US.

Mr Bush builds a pyramid.
87 Billion. Eightyseven billion dollars! He's spending money to make himself great.
It can't happen. There isn't enough money to make him great.
However, he is doing a great job at making the world poor.

Hey, like it or no, it's gods work.
Attacks Beset Afghan Girls' Schools
Officials Say Sabotage Intended to Undermine Progress
By Pamela Constable
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, September 8, 2003; Page A01

ZAHIDABAD, Afghanistan, Sept. 7 -- It was little more than a shed attached to a village mosque. It had no chairs, and no desks. But for the 50 young girls who had studied there since April, the two-room school in this pastoral pocket of Logar province was all that stood between a lifetime of ignorance and a glimmer of knowledge.
Now the doors have been padlocked, the teacher says he is too scared to return, and the former students are back to their customary chores -- pumping water at the village well, weeding onion fields and carrying loads of animal fodder on their heads.
That may be exactly what the unknown assailants had in mind when they broke into the shed late at night 10 days ago, doused the classrooms with fuel and set them afire, leaving behind leaflets in the Dari language warning that girls should not go to school and that teachers should not teach them.

More good news for advertisers? Infrasound!
You know, people who mold public opinion. Oh, and by the way, a reminder about our basic biology, and how much gets right past that PhD in whatever.

Lest we forget there are seasons. Real ones. 'Tis Autumn, a time for looking.
Reds and Yellows on the Screen and on the Trees
By BOB TEDESCHI

George Bush is the worst president in the entire history of the United States. What could be worse than that: he could be your son. So, maybe that makes GW Sr. the worst? If you add his spawn to his non-service, yeah, indirectly.

Scientists discover that 69% of Americans are hopelessly stupid?
Hussein Link to 9/11 Lingers in Many Minds
Almost two years later, most Americans believe Saddam Hussein was involved in the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. (AP)
By Dana Milbank and Claudia Deane, Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, September 6, 2003; Page A01
"Sixty-nine percent of Americans said they thought it at least likely that Hussein was involved in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, according to the latest Washington Post poll. That impression, which exists despite the fact that the hijackers were mostly Saudi nationals acting for al Qaeda, is broadly shared by Democrats, Republicans and independents."
GMB: on the other hand, note the incredibly poor reporting: "at least likely"... no quantification here at all, perhaps likely as opposed to absolutely certain he was NOT? "Involved", as opposed to absolutely certain he had no involvement at all, that at no time did any of the 9/11 planners, money, etc ever ever touch Iraq.
Shit, the United States can't pass THAT test! Certainly George Bush can't: he was building an anti missile system.
Maybe its the reporters that are hopelessly inept?

Teddy Roosevelt on hyphenated Americans
He didn't like them at all. If you were here, you were American, and hyphenation was a deceit. Makes an interesting read.

The night show guys speak out

Finally, a candidate who can explain the Bush administration's
positions on civil liberties...in the original German."-Bill Maher, on Schwarznegger running for Governor.
President Bush is supporting Arnold but a lot of Republicans are not, because he is actually quite liberal. Karl Rove said if his fatherwasn't a Nazi, he wouldn't have any credibility with conservatives at all." Bill Maher
"Yesterday, Arnold Schwarzenegger announced he would run for governor of California. The announcement was good news for Florida residents who now live in the second flakiest state in the country." Conan O'Brien
"Apparently Arnold was inspired by President Bush, who proved you can be a successful politician in this country even if English is your second language." Conan O'Brien
They're saying Arnold will get 95% of the vote. At least according to his brother, Jeb Schwarzenegger." Craig Kilborn
President Bush has been silent on Schwarzenegger. Of course, he can't pronounce Schwarzenegger." David Letterman
Here's how bad California looks to the rest of the country. People in Florida are laughing at us." Jay Leno
"Well, we're all excited because President Bush has started his 35-day vacation. He's down there in Crawford, Texas and on the first day of his vacation he went fishing. He didn't find any fish, he didn't find any lakes, but he believes they're there and that his intelligence is accurate." David Letterman
The White House released a videotape of President Bush meeting with his cabinet and today Iraqi officials say they believe the tape is authentic." Jay Leno
"The United States is putting together a Constitution now for Iraq. Why don't we just give them ours? It's served us well for 200 years, and we don't appear to be using it anymore, so what the hell?" Jay Leno
President Bush held his first full press conference in over five months this week. He announced that the war on terrorism is continuing, much more work needs to be done on the economy, and Saddam Hussein has not yet been captured. And then he said, 'I'm going on vacation for a month.'" Jay Leno
"The White House says that the vacation in Texas will give President Bush the chance to unwind. My question is, when does the guy wind?" David Letterman
"If you add up all the time he's spent on the ranch, he's spent more
time in hiding than bin Laden and Hussein put together." Bill Maher
President Bush's economic team is now on their "Jobs and Growth" bus tour all across America. I think the only job they've created so far is for the guy driving the bus." Jay Leno
President Bush has refused to declassify portions of the congressional 9/11 reports about the Saudis, because he says it will help the enemy. Not Al Qaeda, the Democrats." Jay Leno

Bush as Traitor?

He inherited the strongest nation in the world. And he has driven it into the ground. Mere incompetence cannot account for such speed. Mr. Bush's actions have been deliberate: Tax cuts, corporate malfeasance persued by the State of NY and NOT the federal government, and a war with huge dollar flows to friends and associates, destruction of relations with long standing allies, violations of trade agreements for special interests.
Putting personal interests ahead of state interests to such disasterous effect should subject Bush to investigation on treason or international war crimes.

Lets see, Bush in the White House for 1000 days and no sex in the White house for about the same number. I think we made a very very poor trade. GMB
Never trust a man who isn't at least tempted.

"The question is whether the world is ready to pick the United States up off the floor and dust them off," said a senior Western envoy involved in discussions on Iraq. "A lot of people aren't ready yet."
Another clip from the Times
Yep, pick the US up from the floor. Or GB by the balls ("... the hearts and minds will follow.")

The China Syndrome
By PAUL KRUGMAN
GMB: Bush seriously weakens the US What Al Qaeda couldn't do, born again Bush and conservatives did. Big money, oil, and Bush friends really have no stake in the US: money can move, does and will. We just might get to feel what its really liked to be pushed around. What went around may be comin' round.

All the world knows about the Iraq about-face: having squandered our military strength in a war he felt like fighting even though it had nothing to do with terrorism, President Bush is now begging the cheese-eaters and chocolate-makers to rescue him. What may not be equally obvious is that he's doing the same thing on the economic front. Having squandered his room for economic maneuver on tax cuts that pleased his party base but had nothing to do with job creation, Mr. Bush is now asking China to help him out.

Bush to Seek $60 Billion or More for Iraq
U.S. Floats Plan To Widen U.N. Postwar Role
This is an economic plan.
Please note that in classic Keynsian economic sense, the economy will improve and certain corporations will lead the way. . Like, say, Haliburton. Also note that the environment, health, species extinction and many other quality of life measurements are NOT part of the measurement in our "economy".

somebody FINALLY got it fucking right!
North Korea and Iran Want the Bomb
Wouldn't you, too?
By Fred Kaplan
Posted Friday, August 29, 2003, at 3:39 PM PT
It is a DEFENSIVE weapon against the United States which is NOT a peaceful nation, not under Bush/Cheney/Ashcroft/Rumsfeld et al. Well, it might be a peaceful nation IF you agree to its trade policies, its financial policies, and NONE of your policies interferes with the US policies (eg, global warming, internation tribunals, currency valuation, tariffs...)

Too late to save us from Bush
Asteroid Heading for Earth, May Hit in 2014
Tue September 2, 2003 05:13 AM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - A giant asteroid is heading for Earth and could hit in 2014, U.S. astronomers have warned British space monitors. But for those fearing Armageddon, don't be alarmed -- the chances of a catastrophic collision are just one in 909,000 But for those fearing Armageddon, don't be alarmed -- the chances of a catastrophic collision are just one in 909,000
Let's see: is that safer than air travel? Will Iraq be safer by then? Will GW's energy policy save the day?

Iraq Chaos May Cloud Bush's Sept. 11 Legacy
Tue September 2, 2003 09:09 AM ET

By Adam Entous William Nash of the Council on Foreign Relations, a retired Army general, notes that Americans "were told it wouldn't be this hard."
Only dumbass Bush could have made it this hard
(By the way, whoever thought that Bush had some kind of 9/11 "legacy" is a bit looney: the first thing he did was go into hiding. Yeah, yeah, he was forced to by the secret service. Right.)

It is about time

Report: Israel Used Excessive Force During '00 Uprising
Sniper Fire Resulted in 13 Arab Deaths
By Molly Moore
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, September 1, 2003; 9:50 PM


JERUSALEM, Sept. 1 -- A government-commissioned report concluded today that police used excessive force against Israel's Arab citizens during protests in the earliest days of the Palestinian uprising three years ago, resulting in 13 deaths in a fusillade of bullets and sniper fire
It is about time

Hey, dumb-ass George Bush: here's some work closer to home.
A Cry for Justice Echoes in Peru
As in Other Countries, Inquiry Stirs Memories of Atrocities

By Scott Wilson
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, September 1, 2003; Page A01

AYACUCHO, Peru -- The men pulled Victoria Rojas from her car that afternoon 20 years ago, raping and then killing her, along with her 2-year-old daughter.

On the 40th anniversary of MLK

I watched Peter Jennings, among others, on the 40th anniversary of King's speech.
Here is what he said:
That King was on his last legs. Mere months before the great speech on the Mall, the movement was failing. There wasn't one bombing in Birmingham, there were at least 30 bombings! Mere months away from a great turning point in this American democracy, it almost did not happen. It was that close to dying. Then, at the 11th hour, the movement decided to let the children join, and join they did! How brave of the children and even more brave of the parents to have their children placed in harms way.
And the bigotry and beatings and water hoses and dogs continued. But this time the whole word saw. The whole world saw America, and it was not anything like she pretended to be.
I remember seeing the marchers on TV (my sister Ricki was on one of those marches and we thought that she was foolish, as a mother, to take such risks. But only she among all of us was the hero, the real American.) Now we must ask, as Thoreau asked Emerson from the jail, when asked "why are you in there" replied with another question "why are you not in here?" Yes. Why indeed was I not there?
What I remember now, with deep shame and sorrow, is that whatever status I might claim as a middle class midwestern American reform Jew, I simply did not care. Not really. Not enough. Black Americans were deprived of basic human rights, they were beaten, they were killed, they were adults, they were children.
I certainly apologize for the crime of slavery that my nation visited on its own people of color. But for my apathy during the 60's, I can and do apologize for my own behavior. My God, how very far from the mark I was. And I must now wonder, daily, how far from the mark am I today? And how shall I do more as an American to form and preserve this more perfect union?