Friday, November 17, 2006

From the More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same Department.....


This should serve as a wake up call to anyone who thought Bush was going to respond contructively to the election results.....



MATT APUZZO, ASSOCIATED PRESS - Immigrants arrested in the United States may be held indefinitely on suspicion of terrorism and may not challenge their imprisonment in civilian courts, the Bush administration said Monday, opening a new legal front in the fight over the rights of detainees. In court documents filed with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., the Justice Department said a new anti-terrorism law being used to hold detainees in Guantanamo Bay also applies to foreigners captured and held in the United States.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Bush Proud About Allowing Election


Is it possible that he really thinks this way? Well of course it is! Remember, this is the same fool who thought Don Rumsfeld was doing a "fantastic job"...right up until the election returns started coming in.


Maybe you missed this on Saturday, because who the hell actually listens to the President’s Radio Address, but it’s still worth a post because it’s insane. Here’s an actual quote from Bush on the radio:
One freedom that defines our way of life is the freedom to choose our leaders at the ballot box. We saw that freedom earlier this week, when millions of Americans went to the polls to cast their votes for a new Congress. Whatever your opinion of the outcome, all Americans can take pride in the example our democracy sets for the world by holding elections even in a time of war.

Yeah, because one thing the United States always does in a “time of war” is cancel elections. Well, okay, not really. We managed to have elections during World War I and World War II and the Korean War and the Cold War and the Vietnam War and the War On Drugs and the War On Christmas, among others.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Something is flourishing in Afghanistan...but it ain't democracy


This would be comical, if it weren't for the fact that Americans keep dying there.....

Today the GAO released "Afghanistan Drug Control: Despite Improved Efforts, Deteriorating Security Threatens Success of U.S. Goals" and let's say it doesn't look good. Here's what has occurred regarding opium production:

Net opium poppy cultivation (hectares);
2002: 74,000;
2003: 80,000;
2004: 131,000;
2005: 104,000;
2006: 165,000.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Journalist (?) Unsure Whether Lying Damages Bush’s Credibility With Press


When this is the standard reporters are apparently using, it makes you wonder how the truth about anything ever sees the light of day in DC. Apparently, as long as the president has a politically expedient reason for lying his ass off to the whole country, it is no problem.

Days before the election, President Bush told reporters that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney would “remain with him until the end of his presidency, extending a job guarantee to two of the most-vilified members of his administration.”

The day after the election, Bush announced that Rumsfeld was being replaced. Bush admitted that he had talked to Rumsfeld about resigning and was actively searching for his replacement when he promised Rumsfeld would stay on.

Yesterday, NBC’s David Gregory acknowledged that Bush “deliberately misled those reporters.” Russert asked whether that “hurt his credibility with you and the press corps.” Gregory expressed doubt, saying that Bush “laid out his case for why he did it…so I think people see it different ways.”

Monday, November 13, 2006

Carbon emissions rising faster than ever


I guess not enough folks saw Al Gore's movie last summer.

Far from slowing down, global carbon dioxide emissions are rising faster than before, said a gathering of scientists in Beijing on Friday.

Between 2000 and 2005, emissions grew four times faster than in the preceding 10 years, according to researchers at the Global Carbon Project, a consortium of international researchers. Global growth rates were 0.8% from 1990 to 1999. From 2000 to 2005, they reached 3.2%.
"On our current path, we will find it extremely difficult to rein in carbon emissions enough to stabilise the atmospheric CO2 concentration at 450 parts per million and even 550 ppm will be a challenge," says Josep Canadell, executive director of the Global Carbon Project.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Leahy to Seek to Restore Habeas Corpus Rights


It will be good to see what guys like Leahy can do now that they are off their leashes....

An effort to restore habeas corpus rights for enemy combatants could be the first test of the Democrats' resolve to change course in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, who is expected to become chairman, confirmed Thursday that he is drafting a bill to undo portions of a recently passed law that prevent terrorism detainees from going to federal court to challenge the government's right to hold them indefinitely.