Wanton Removal of Meritorious Officers is an Impeachable Offense!

On June 17th, 1789, the first US Congress was gathered to discuss, among other things, the removal from office of politcial appointees. Regarding the idea of allowing the President, solely, to dismiss appointees, James Madison, the Father of the Constitution, said this:

"The danger then consists merely in this: the President can displace from office a man whose merits require that he should be continued in it. What will be the motives which the President can feel for such abuse of his power, and the restraints that operate to prevent it? In the first place, he will be impeachable by this House, before the Senate for such an act of maladministration, for I contend that the wanton removal of meritorious officers would subject him to impeachment and removal from his own high trust. But what can be his motives for displacing a worthy man? It must be that he may fill the place with an unworthy creature of his own."

The next time some knucklehead tries to tell you that the attorneys "serve at the pleasure of the President", remind them that just because they serve at the President's pleasure, they do not serve the President, they serve the Constitution, according to their own oath of office.

Then remind them that that the wanton removal of meritorious officers is an impeachable offense!

Joe Biden Rips the GOP

Go Joe!
You are spot on!
He is right there with me. See my last post.

Democrats - Plan the Post-Surge Strategy Now

What are we going to do when the “surge” inevitably fails?

This is the question of the hour.

I think most people already know that it is going to. General Patreus, the new guy in charge, only gave the “surge” a “one out of four” chance of success. That’s only a 25% chance of success, in case you are really bad at math. The military commanders have been saying all along that the solutions to the problems in Iraq are political and diplomatic, not military.

The conservatives responsible for this Mess-O-Potamia thought they were going to prove the Marshall Plan was wrong. The conservatives thought that they could rebuild Iraq into a privatized, free-market utopia. The rhetoric was all about “bringing democracy”, but as Naomi Klein points out in her fantastic article, “Privatization in Disguise”:

“By the time the Iraqi people have a say in choosing a government, the key economic decisions about their country's future will have been made by their occupiers.”

The reason the Marshall Plan worked was that it gave money directly to the governments of Germany and Japan and let them invest in their own economies, putting Germans to work rebuilding German roads and buildings and stimulating a middle class in Germany. It gave the Germans and Japanese advantages that we lack in America like universal healthcare and strong labor unions. And here we are, 2007 and the Germans and Japanese are dominating the auto industry. Go figure.

The conservatives, in a needlessly partisan attempt to prove the Democrat Truman wrong, thought that by selling off Iraq’s infrastructure and resources to foreign investors that would somehow be enough to rebuild the Iraqi economy. The problem comes back to the recurring theme with Conservatives, a general disregard for the working class everywhere.

The largest construction project in Iraq right now is the U.S. Embassy, a massive $600 Million campus and the Iraqis are not building it. They gave the contract to a Kuwaiti company instead because they were the lowest bidder.

Paul Bremmer came into Iraq in 2003 and immediately fired thousands of Iraqi bureaucrats, intelligence emloyees, teachers and government employees in a “de-baathification” project that ultimately ended up creating willing fodder for the insurgency.

In 2004, Al Jazeera reported that the unemployment rate in Iraq was at 70%.

The unemployment rate in Iraq remains above about 50% to this day.

If the unemployment rate in America was 50% we would probably have an insurgency here too.

Of course, the US Government says the unemployment rate is only 30%.

In the depths of the Great Depression in America, unemployment hit 29%.

President Hoover was in such fear of a domestic insurgency that he ordered an attack on the Bonus Marchers, veterans of WW1 who were in Washington DC, petitioning to get a promised bonus early.

That is the plan that the Democrats need to be thinking about now if they want to succeed in 2008. We cannot pull out of Iraq immediately because it would cause it to escalate into a regional war. Before we can leave, we have to stabilize Iraq. It’s the Pottery Barn rule, you break it, you bought it. We broke Iraq. We have to fix it or at least figure out a way to pay for it before we leave.

We need to stabilize Iraq by creating a strong central government. The way to do that is to give the people a stake in its survival. One way to do that would be to nationalize the oil industry and give every Iraqi citizen a share of it. Literally. Issue shares of it to everyone who can prove their citizenship. That would give every Iraqi, regardless of tribe or religion, a shared bond and a stake in some badly needed common ground.

The way to attack the insurgency in Iraq is to create jobs. Give the Iraqis something constructive to do and give them a stake in rebuilding their own country. Let’s start by letting the Iraqis build our embassy. We bombed them, for Pete’s sake, it’s the least we can do.

The Democrats need to start citing the Marshall Plan openly as one example of how to handle Iraq correctly. Of course because this has been bungled so badly, for so long, and so much damage has already been done to the entire region, that we cannot succeed without including Iraq’s neighbors in more active and constructive roles.

Of course, in order to get behind this plan, DLC Democrats like Hillary are going to have to abandon the corporatist meme and acknowledge the fact that some socialism can be positive and productive, especially when rebuilding a broken economy.

Once one escapes the conservative, corporatist meme, it opens up all sorts of possibilities to benefit America. It is simple common business sense; any costs that the government can subsidize will give businesses in that country a competitive advantage. Want to help revitalize GM? Institute Nationalized Healthcare! Gm has more healthcare cost in their cars then cost of Steel. Want to rebuild the American manufacturing base? Reinstitute Import Tariffs! There is no reason that China should be allowed to put 30% import tariffs on our products but we can’t even put a 5% tariff on theirs.

Hey Ann, John Edwards is Happily Married

I just donated $50. You should too.

Fuck Ann Coulter and "her" massive adam's apple.

Seriously, look at that thing. It's bigger than mine.

Dear Kyle,

Did you hear about Anne Coulter's speech this afternoon attacking John? A friend just forwarded me the video and it's one of the worst moments in American politics I've seen.

I can't bring myself to even repeat her comments. Her shameless display of bigotry is so outrageous you actually have to see for yourself to believe it.

This is just a taste of the filth that the right-wing machine is gearing up to throw at us. And now that it's begun, we have a choice: Do we sit back, or do we fight back?

I say we fight. Help us raise $100,000 in "Coulter Cash" this week to show every would-be Republican mouthpiece that their bigoted attacks will not intimidate this campaign. I just threw in 100 bucks. Will you join me? Just click here.

Coulter's attack was no accident. It happened on national television at one of the year's biggest conservative conferences. Dick Cheney and most of the Republican candidates were in the audience. She was even introduced by Mitt Romney.

John was singled out for a personal attack because the Republican establishment knows he poses the greatest threat to their power. Since they have nothing real to use against him, Coulter's resorting to the classic right-wing strategy of riling up hate to smear a progressive champion. And the Republican attack dogs will keep playing this despicable trick as long as they think it works.

But this time, you and I can change the game.

If we can raise $100,000 in "Coulter Cash" this week, we can show that bigotry will only backfire on those who use it. John is not the first progressive leader to face this kind of slime, but together, we can make sure he is one of the last.

Tonight, I've put in 100 bucks of "Coulter Cash" to get us started. Can you match me, or chip in whatever you can afford? Just click here:

http://johnedwards.com/r/6665/405884


Thanks,

David Bonior
Campaign Manager
John Edwards for President

Had a DUI? Forget about going to Canada!

Have you heard about this yet? I am suprised it isn't getting more attention.

If you are an American trying to go to Canada and you have even a minor criminal conviction on your record, including misdemeanors, as far back as your juvinille record, you will now be turned back at the border.

If you have been convicted of a DUI, reckless driving, or posession of marijuana, even on your juvinille record, you have to obtain a waiver saying you are "rehabilitated". They cost money, involve a lot of paperwork and take approx 6 months to get.

Absolutely Fucking Brilliant

God Bless George Carlin.

Gore Leading the Parade on Global Warming

This is pretty interesting. Al Gore is planning a 24 hour concert series on seven continents to highlight the dangers of Global Warming.



The list of artists who will be performing is impressive:

Pharrell, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Snoop Dogg, Lenny Kravitz, Bon Jovi, Paolo Nutini, Sheryl Crow, AFI, Melissa Etheridge, John Mayer, Damien Rice, Corrine Bailey Rae, Duran Duran, Snow Patrol, John Legend, Black Eyed Peas, Akon, Enrique Iglesias, Fall Out Boy, Mana, Keane, Kelly Clarkson, Korn, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, Ray LaMontagne, Robin Thicke, and Kenna.

The one U.S. city that will host the concert has yet to be announced and ticket sales info is supposed to be announced in March.

Why It is Unlikely There Will Ever Be Another 9-11

I have been saying this for a long time. September 11, 2001 was a horrible attack, but this is another example of why that trick will only work once.

Passengers subdue armed hijacker

I know one thing for sure, no plane I am ever on is going to be hijacked while I am still alive. I know a lot of people who feel the same way since 9-11. The "Shoe Bomber" learned that lesson as well.

Superbowl

I watched Superbowl 41 last night and I must say I was a little disappointed. Not in the game but in the commercials. I have always looked forward to watching the new, amusing, and interesting ads. Usually numerous companies take advantage of the captive audience. Such commercials as Ridley Scott's Mac Commercial, the Bud Bowl and others have debuted during the Superbowl.
This year about all of them sucked. It costs millions to get an ad on the Superbowl and it appears a majority of companies wasted their money. For the most part the ads were boring, tasteless and some I swear were reruns.
To make matters worse it appeared as if every other ad was for a CBS show. I mean you always expect whatever network that is broadcasting the Superbowl to plug their own shows. This was ridiculous I think over half the ads were for CBS.

Officials in Boston are Idiots

These guys say it very well for all of us. The blame for this falls squarely on the shoulders of the city officials in Boston who overreacted to cartoon characters on little blinking signs that were hanging for three weeks before they decided to panic.

The Brownshirts Are Coming!

I thought I may have imagined this when I first listened to the State of the Union the other night, but unfortunately I did not.

The fact he is calling for this really says a lot about how over-extended our military is right now.

"One of the first steps we can take together is to add to the ranks of our military - so that the American Armed Forces are ready for all the challenges ahead. Tonight I ask the Congress to authorize an increase in the size of our active Army and Marine Corps by 92,000 in the next 5 years. A second task we can take on together is to design and establish a volunteer Civilian Reserve Corps. Such a corps would function much like our military reserve. It would ease the burden on the Armed Forces by allowing us to hire civilians with critical skills to serve on missions abroad when America needs them. And it would give people across America who do not wear the uniform a chance to serve in the defining struggle of our time. "

Historically, these civilian forces have played important roles during wartime. For instance the Nazi Stormtroopers, or Sturmabteilung, also known as the SA or Brown shirts, played a key role in Hitler's rise to power since they were civilians who's primary job was busting up beer halls to silence any dissent.

The Perfect Cantidate

In The Republic, Plato suggests that a fundamental problem with Democracy is that the people who will seek out that kind of power are generally the last kind of people that would like to see with that kind of power because they are most likely to abuse it in seeking even more power. In answer to this he suggests a system wherein candidates are drawn by lottery to public service, or by nomination in a referendum sort of like our primaries. If you are nominated, which means, if enough people want you in particular to run for an office, then you must do it as your duty as a citizen.

If that were the system we lived under today, I believe the majority of Democrats would just nominate Al Gore to run again.

Rolling Stone lays out some very good arguments for why Al Gore is the perfect candidate for the Democrats in 2008.
I love their opening...

A stiff Vice President campaigns on his administration's legacy of unprecedented prosperity. Looks terrible on TV. Bows out, following a disputed vote count. Then, two terms later, with no incumbent in the race, he re-enters the fray. Promises to change the course of a disastrous war founded on lies. And charges to victory. I'm referring, of course, to the 1968 campaign of Richard Milhous Nixon. But four decades later, history has a chance to repeat itself for Albert Arnold Gore.

A lot of people are already behind a campaign to "draft" Al Gore in 2008.

Personally my favorite cantidate remains John Edwards. Al Gore is infinately better than Dumbya, but he is still a DLC Democrat and a Corporatist. America desperately needs populists if we want to have any hope of salvaging our middle class.

Prognostications

I just want to have this on record.

I think that sometime in the next year, Dick Cheney is going to step down from office, citing "health reasons" and will be replaced by either Condi Rice or Tom Ridge as V.P.

It will probably depend upon who seems to take the upper hand between the Democrats, for example, if Hillary pulls clearly ahead of everyone else, Condi is more likely to be the one picked.

Also, sometime in the next two years, the micro-conflict between the Sunnis and Shia in Iraq is going to explode into a region-wide war, involving Iran and Saudi Arabia at the very least.

At some point there is going to be the "Archduke Ferdinand" moment that will create a domino effect, causing the conflict to escalate out of control.

I have to wonder, when the "sectarian conflict" in Iraq escalates, whose side are we going to take? Will we continue to side with the "Official" Iraqi government when they side with Iran? They are already allies.

Or will we side with the Sunni minority in Iraq, and thus with our good "friends" Saudi Arabia, against the democratically elected government in Iraq.

Want to make some money?

Invest now in weapon manufacturers and defense contractors.

Alright, one other thing, I think that at some point in the near future, China will start to exert more of its influence on America. As our ability to consume decreases because of stagnating wages and increasing costs of living, China will begin to slow down the amount of credit it is buying, thus driving the value of the dollar down, and their profits up.

A Letter to Congress

This is the text of a letter I sent to my Congressman and Senator recently. I thought I would share it here. I am also sending it into some local papers, but it is probably too long to be published there.

The question of whether George W. Bush has committed high crimes or misdemeanors is one that must be answered for the health and stability of America. It is the legal and moral imperative of Congress to hold the executive branch in check. In order to do that you must investigate and if your investigations find evidence then you must prosecute.

The pardon of Richard Nixon was one of the most devastating blows to the trust the people have in the American government to function fairly and justly. The ease with which Congress gave up investigations into Iran-Contra was another, arguably lesser, blow to our nation. That kind of thing must not happen again. Another such blow to the fabric of the social contract between the government and the governed, and that contract might just shatter.

In order to maintain the trust of the people and therefore the mandate to govern, the people must know that everyone is accountable to the law, especially those at the highest levels. We can see on television every night that those at the lowest levels cannot escape the law. That imbalance is not lost on the average citizen of this country.

Our nation is hurting.

We are bleeding liberty while cynicism and apathy infect our culture.

Something needs to be done.

This is not the time to be politically cautious.

This is the time to be a true patriot.

This is the time to be an idealist of the highest order, in the manner of the Jefferson, Madison or Adams.

Do not fail your country in this, our hour of need.

President Ford Ultimately Damaged America

I was only a child when Ford pardoned Nixon so I missed out on the Watergate Hearings. After experiencing the OJ Hearings I can imagine to some degree what was meant by "long national nightmare". But from my perspective I did see the effects that pardon had on our national debate and ultimately to our culture overall.

Gerald Ford did grave damage to America.

By failing to allow the system to work as it is intended, he forced a deep wound to stay open instead of healing.

Now that wound has festered and infected America at its core.

Gerald Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon set the disastrous precedent that any serious scandal involving the executive branch poses a threat to the stability of this nation.

That false frame was again invoked when George Bush Sr. would not allow any investigation into the Iran-Contra scandal.

Both times, it was obvious nonsense because it involved public figures who were already out of office.

That is why when they went after Bill Clinton it was ultimately for a frivolous cause, marital infidelity. It was not a serious, high crime or breach of Constitutional Oath. They claimed it was because he "lied", but the topic he lied about was ultimately nothing more then marital infidelity. That frivolous cause was enough to target the President for, but it did not fit in their frame which created a threat to the "stability" of the nation.

I predict it is again going to be invoked by the right as part of the excuses that we will be hearing more of in the next two years, to try and protect the Bush Administration from investigation.

If a Republican President wins in 2008, the Republicans will most assuredly be invoking this frame again to support a pardon for the Bush Administration from anything that comes up in whatever investigations happen in the next two years.

We, as a people, need to reject that false frame.

When those in authority commit crimes or misdemeanors it wounds us. It damages us as a nation because it breaks the trust between the people and the government we give power to.

Holding our elected officials accountable for their actions is what HEALS our wounds.

Our system was setup to handle this eventuality. If the American justice system were allowed to work, there would have been closure and the nation could have healed. We could have continued on in the knowledge that ultimately our system does work.

Instead, we got confirmation of our fears that our system is indeed broken.

Instead, by pardoning Nixon out of purely partisan loyalty, Ford did not allow the system to work as designed.

By Pardoning Nixon, Gerald Ford prevented America from healing properly from that "long, national nightmare".

That national nightmare of escalating partisan venom has continued to this day, but now it has been institutionalized.

Then Reagan got rid of the Fairness doctrine, it allowed viruses like Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage and Fox News to infect our society by infecting our public debate with partisan propaganda and misinformation.

We see it everyday on the rightwing media, especially with the primary culprit, Fox News.

For example, yesterday they were covering Nancy Pelosi's ascendance to Speaker with distain. The Fox News "Anchors" were openly mocking Pelosi and setting up the frame of her as a jealous, scornful woman. Their proof, a story about how a woman that Pelosi did not appoint to any position was angry about it. Their claim was essentially that Pelosi must be jealous and scornful, because she is, after all, a woman. Meanwhile, the Fox "News" banner that scrolled along at the bottom played into that frame with "Catfight in Congress".

None of that is News.

It isn't even remotely helpful.

It is only entertaining in the same shallow way as Professional Wrestling.

It is an open display of distain and scorn for any opposing political thought.

It is an example of the WOUND which inflicts America, possibly terminally.

A wound that Gerald Ford had a chance to heal but failed to do so.

He chose not to heal this country because he put his loyalty to his Political Party above his loyalty to his Country.

The rightwing is falsely trumpeting that he "healed the nation" and then flip-flopping around the next second and spewing the very venomous, intolerant dogma that is infecting this Country to its core.

We, the people, need to continue to fight to restore our Democracy by holding the Democrats accountable now that they are in power.

Do not join in the useless and nonsensical partisan rhetoric that will undoubtedly be spewing forth from the rightwing media from now on.

Stay true to Progressive Ideals like Compassion, Fairness and Truth. Stay on top of our newly elected officials so that they know our priority this time is to hold those in power accountable for what they have done by misleading us into this quagmire formerly known as Iraq.

Write to your Representatives. Write to the heads or members of any committees relevant to these issues.

Now is the time to be out in the streets of America protesting, because there is a chance the Democrats might actually listen.

Saddam's Execution = A Victory for Muqtada Al-Sadr

The really disturbing thing, to me, about the execution of Saddam was that the tape of it, recorded by two of Muqtada Al-Sadr's men, clearly showed a mob-style lynching instead of a somber and proper state execution.

It really brings into question who is actually running Iraq.

First of all, the executioners (decked out in black leather and ski masks) who led Saddam to the gallows reportedly told him that he destroyed the country before yelling "Muqtada Al-sadr!".

Then there were also hecklers among the crowd who were also chanting "Muqtada Al-sadr!"

The Malaki government claims they are in charge in Iraq, but lets look at the facts.

They couldn't control the "executioners".

They couldn't keep out a mob of al-sadr's followers.

They couldn't stop al-sadr's men from videotaping the entire event, or prevent them from posting it to the internet.

And on top of all that, both the executioners and the mob were chanting the name of a religious cleric and Rebel.

So I pose the questions: Who is really in charge of Iraq? Is this the "Democracy" that Bush claimed he was bringing them?

Peace on Earth

This Cartoon from 1939 is the only cartoon to ever be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

MGM Cartoon 1939 Peace On Earth
Uploaded by shawshawshaw

No Thanks Time Magazine, You Can Keep Your Stupid Award

Time's lame-ass "Person of the Year" has been the subject of much disgusted eye-rolling recently.

In case you haven'e heard, they gave it to "You". Well, you and I technically.

I don't know about you, but I don't want it.


This is the same award Time Magazine has given to Adolph Hitler and George W. Bush.


Not exactly esteemed company.


Personlly, I think that they should have given "Person of the Year" to the Amish in Lancaster, PA.

But apparently, that is just me.

An Open Letter to American Christian Conservatives

You guys have a lot of nerve.

Many of you are acting as if there is nothing wrong; As if you have
done nothing wrong.

You have a LOT of repenting to be doing.

This Christmas season should be a time of reflection and introspection for you.

Spend it thinking about REAL Christian Values.

This past election should have been a wake up call for you.

I was there, in Washington D.C. BEFORE the war. I was standing there
with my sign that said "PEACE NOT WAR", not even saying anything, when a self-described "Conservative Christian" came up to me and started telling me in detail why I was going to hell because I opposed this war and that I should "repent my heathenish Liberal ways". I tried to explain to her that I am a Christian. I am an ordained reverend in a non-denominational church. She would hear none of it.

The people are NOW starting to wake up and are realizing that this
invasion and occupation of Iraq was a disastrous mistake.

Not a blunder.

Not an "oops".

It was a horrific, disastrous, catastrophic, apocalyptic Mistake of
BIBLICAL proportions!

A mistake that YOU openly supported.

A mistake by a man that YOU overwhelmingly supported!

All because of a narrow set of comparatively small wedge issues.

Shame on you for lacking perspective.

Shame on you for your incivility during that time.

Mine was not an isolated incident and you know it.

So many people have lost their lives, their limbs, their homes, their
loved ones and worst of all their HOPE because of this action that YOU
supported.

Because of a general, pervasive ignorance among the American
populace about Iraq, the culture or the people living there, you had
no idea what kind of powder keg it really was.

Now that powder keg has exploded.

Tribes of people who were thrown together less than a century ago by
the British and labeled the nation "Iraq" have gone back to fighting
each other, like they did for a thousand years before.

And 150,000 of our Soldiers, our Citizens, and our Children are
standing around in the middle of that nation while it explodes.

What the HELL were you thinking?

Who am I kidding? I know what you were thinking.

You were scared after 9-11.

You had your sense of security shattered and you realized that we can be attacked here on our soil. You realized that we Americans can be victims too. Unfortunately you failed to realize that we can personally experience repercussions because of what our government does thousands of miles away. Distance and verbal disassociation from our government's actions are no longer enough to keep us safe.

So what did you do, when God challenged you? What did you do in the face of fear? How did you react when confronted by people who hate you?

You sided with the Republicans based on a narrow set of wedge issues and you enabled them to do everything they did starting with the Patriot Act, including the invasion of Iraq and right up to doing away with Habeus Corpus and Posse Comitatus.

Do you feel any safer because of what we have done in Afganistan and Iraq?

Do you think Islamic Fundamentalists hate us any less or are reduced in numbers?

If you do then you are, in the words of journalist Michael Ware, "suffering from the luxury of distance".

An example of how REAL Christians react when they are attacked is
right here in America's heartland, right under your noses.

Earlier this year the Amish in Penn were attacked by an insane man who executed several of their children in cold blood. He put them on their knees and shot them from behind.

How did the Amish React?

Did they attack the outside world for its wickedness?

Did they rightfully mention that this is not an uncommon experience for them and that earlier this same year they had several of their daughters fall victim to rape?

Did they invade and occupy two countries? (Couldn't help myself)

No, they immediately held a press conference and publicly FORGAVE the man.

Then, when the money and gifts started pouring in from all over the world, their first action was to create a fund for the wife and children of the man who murdered their children.

Pay special attention to that.

For future reference, THAT is how a real Christian reacts when they are attacked.

You all really need to reevaluate your principles. You need to reexamine what "Christian Values" really are.

"Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who
curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. To him who
strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who
takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to
everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do
not ask them back."
- Luke 6:27-30

The Hugs for Jacey Campaign

This is a very touching campaign of support for a little girl who is battling Lukemia. My heart absolutely breaks watching the videos her mother posted of her. This wonderful woman started this campaign and it is very uplifting to see the huge outpouring of love for this little girl from total strangers.



Her Mother posts videos of her here.


This is a great statement from Jacey's Mother.

"We are NOT soliciting gifts or donations Please know that Most major cities have children's hospitals and they are full of kids like Jacey. Those kids would be just as happy to get gifts as Jacey would. People wanting to donate money should make a donation to the Leukemia Society or St Judes and all kids fighting leukemia and other cancers will benifit from it. THE BEST THING PEOPLE CAN DO IS DONATE PLATELETS. All kids fighting cancer need those to stay alive."

A Travesty of Justice

Noisy cell call lands party's host in jail

December 5, 2006
BY DAN CORTEZ

Carmen Granata, 23, of Eastpointe is serving 30 days in jail.

Monday was Carmen Granata's first day back to work as a veterinarian technician in Sterling Heights.

But the night for her ended the same way every other night for the past two weeks has ended -- back in the Macomb County Jail.

Granata, 23, of Eastpointe was cited for violating the city noise ordinance when a friend used a cell phone on her front porch about 4 a.m. after a barbecue last month. The punishment? Thirty days behind bars -- a much tougher penalty than even some felons face.

And then there are the two years of probation she was given. That means two years of daily breath tests for alcohol at the Eastpointe Police Department or 38th District Court, two years of drug tests on a random date each month and twice-monthly meetings with a probation officer.

And if Granata wants to have another party, she must receive approval from her neighbors.

Any violation of those terms would mean 60 days in jail, according to court records.

Granata's father, Joe Granata of Warren, said he is outraged at the punishment handed down Nov. 21 after his daughter pleaded guilty.

"I've missed work, I'm not sleeping well, I've lost weight," he said Monday. "It's been an emotional toll on everybody. If my daughter had done something to deserve to be in jail, I wouldn't have a problem with it. But this is insane."

Granata has hired a lawyer to try to get his daughter's guilty plea thrown out -- a plea he said she made under the assumption that she would only face a small fine.

Assistant City Prosecutor Richard Albright said he met with Granata before she entered the plea. He said he left the courtroom before a group of neighbors told the judge that Granata regularly caused problems in the neighborhood.

"I don't know what was said by the neighbors or by her," Albright said. "There was something that the judge felt deserved jail time."

Neighbors who testified that Granata was a disturbance to the neighborhood could not be reached Monday for comment.

Lori Shemka, the court administrator for 38th District Court, said Judge Norene Redmond could not comment on the case or the penalty she gave to Granata because it's considered an ongoing litigation.

Chrissy Dikowski lives across the street from Granata, who bought her house about a year ago. Dikowski, 29, said Granata was a good neighbor.

"She's a very nice girl, no problems at all," Dikowski said.

Granata's boyfriend, Erik Scudder, said she hosted the barbecue on Nov. 4 for about 70 friends. Most left in the evening to attend a concert at the Magic Stick in Detroit, but 20 returned about 2:30 a.m. to go to sleep.

Police were called to investigate a noise complaint, Scudder said, but no tickets were issued. When someone stepped out later to use a cell phone, an officer in the area moved in and ticketed Granata because she owned the house.

"We didn't want to wake up our friends, let alone our neighbors," Scudder said, adding that most in the house were sleeping.

Kristy Nadvornik, another neighbor of Granata, said that there's a group of people on the block notorious for calling police regularly to investigate noise complaints and other minor issues.

Richard Dreyfuss on Civil Discourse

A very intelligent and needed discussion about the lack of Civics being taught in America.

Bolton is Out! Who Should Replace Him?

I don't think anybody will miss Bolton at the U.N. but it is already time to look forward. Who should replace Bolton? Who would make a good diplomat to represent the United States?

Here I submit my list of recommendations:

Lincoln Chaffee
Joseph Wilson
Bill Clinton
Jimmy Carter
George HW Bush
Jesse Jackson
Jerry Springer (He has experience dealing with extremists)
Robin Williams (hey, CSPAN would be more interesting)

Ok, so maybe Williams was a joke... maybe. But the rest of these people would make good replacements for Bolton, in my opinion.

Something To Think About While Feasting Today

Happy Thanksgiving America! We have a lot to be thankful for this year. The doormat Republican Congress is out and hopefully accountabiliity has been returned to our government. Donald Rumsfeld and Ken Mehlman are out also. That was definately the iceing on the cake.

While many of us are sitting around today watching football or parades, stuffing our faces with turkey, take a moment to think about the 35 million people in America who are "food insecure". That is right, according to the USDA, 12% of Americans do not know where their next meal is coming from.

This year the USDA decided to stop using the word "hunger" and start using "food insecurity", which they define as:

"prolonged, involuntary lack of food, results in discomfort, illness, weakness, or pain that goes beyond the usual uneasy sensation."

According to an article in the Washington Post:

The number of hungriest Americans has risen over the past five years. Last year, the total share of food-insecure households stood at 11 percent.

That means that since this time last year, 3 million more Americans have become "Food Insecure".

I reccommend that everyone who reads this bring it up during dinner tonight. Suggest to your gathered family that you take up a collection for your local food charity. Give someone in need in your community something to be thankful for this year.

GOP Going Backwards

After the landslide victory by the Democrats last week, the GOP decided to bring back the guy who thought America would be much better if we didn't have the Civil Rights Movement or Desegragation.

Apparently they think that the answer to their loss is to get back to their racist, anti civil rights, pro-segragation roots.

In 1948 Strom Thurmond ran for President under the "State's Rights Party", who's entire platform was segragation.

In 2002, when attending the 100th birthday Party for Strom Thurmond, Trent Lott said this:

"I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years."

Lets be clear, by "all these problems" Trent Lott is talking about those darn "uppity" Blacks and their Civil Rights movement.

Why I Cannot Support John McCain

I used to like John McCain. I used to think that he was smart.
I am sure he is a nice enough man, dispite the rumors about his temper.
But last week John McCain proved to me once and for all that he is not competent to be President.



Last Friday, John McCain laid out his plan for Iraq...to send 20,000 MORE U.S. Soldiers.

We have already got 150,000 troops on the ground and the country is in a civil war, and according to Senator McCain, it is all because we are short by a measily 20,000 soldiers.

I seriously have to question his sanity.

I cannot imagine a more idiotic plan for Iraq. First of all, 20,000 is a ridiculous number. If we sent 100,000 more troops, it would not make a difference. The country has already deteriorated into Civil War. The time when a few more troops on the ground would have made a difference is long over.

A study done by the U.S. Military in 1999 said that it even if we sent 400,000 troops the country still could have slid into chaos.

At this point all our Soldiers are doing is standing around in the middle of a civil war, "watching the flames", as one soldier in Iraq put it.

Unless he is going to call for a serious number of troops, like 250,000, then he should be talking abuot how we are going to pull our boys out of that hellhole.

The Dangerous Lame Duck

Russ Feingold wrote a great piece warning about complacency or underestimating this lame duck congress.

A wounded animal is extremely dangerous.

Read it here.

-D

The Democrats may NOT have won the Senate

Ladies and Gentlemen, possibly one of the most powerful and scary men in Washington... Joe Lieberman.

The claim that the Democrats have won control of the Senate is based upon nothing more than a comment from Lieberman that he would caucus with the Democrats.

Nothing more then the word of a well known liar.

Lieberman is a NeoConservative.

Lieberman has been a staunch advocate for the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

An occupation which most Americans, think was a mistake.

He has backed almost every single neoconservative initiative in the Bush administration, which has made him something of a celebrity among the kool-aid drinking Fox News Republicans and their talking heads like Sean Hannity.

Lieberman knows perfectly well that he only won because of the overwhelming Republican support he got. On election night he refused to take Harry Reid's phone call to congratulate him but he did take calls from Republican Senators.

Now this past Sunday, on Meet the Press Tim Russert asked Joe this question:

"MR. RUSSERT: If in fact they ask for discipline in the Democratic caucus, and you start to feel uncomfortable with it, would you consider crossing across the—going across the aisle, and joining the Republicans, if they gave you the same chairmanship that you had, and respected your seniority?"

Mr Lieberman's answer:

"SEN. LIEBERMAN: I’m not ruling it out, but I hope I don’t get to that point."

I am going to go out on a limb here and predict that for the next four years, Lieberman is going to use the threat of switching over to the Republicans to force the Democrats to bend to his neoconservative will on important issues like Iraq. He can force our troops to stay in that quagmire needlessly dying all because he believes, as all the neocons do, that we should be using America's military to fight for Israel's security.

The Katherine Harris Meltdown - Crazy Woman Loose in Florida

Katherine Harris is a trainwreck that I cannot stop watching. She has completely lost it. She spoke to the Sam Seder Show after her loss in Florida this week but she cannot admit that she lost. She lost by 30%, over 1,000,000 votes, but she still thinks she will win in a recount that isn't going to happen.



Harris will never even be a dogcatcher after this performance.
Sad and very, very funny at the same time.

-D

Democrats' First Order of Business - Impeach Cheney

The Democrats first order of business upon convening as a majority party this January should be to target Dick Cheney for impeachment. They can use him as the starting off point for investigations into the entire energy industry. Perhaps we can finally find out what Cheney was hiding with his "Secret Energy Taskforce" meetings during their first term.

They can then use the threat of investigations against Bush to get him to agree not to use his Veto power on any legislation they pass. Then they can get to work repairing the damage done to America, starting with the minimum wage and hopefully moving on to repealing the Anti-American "Patriot Act".

They never said that impeachment was off the table for Cheney, so there will be no real political repercussions for doing it. By impeaching Cheney first, would also insure that should they decide to impeach Bush at some point, Cheney could not replace him. But so much more can potentially be accomplished by going to Bush and offering to leave him alone so long as he cooperates with passing the legislation. They may even be able to force Bush to rightly take responsibility for his lost war and preclude the GOP attempting to tar the Democrats with it.

Riverbend Blog Update

The girl blogger from Iraq posted a pretty incidiary update. She posted it a few days ago but I didn't see it until tonight.

When All Else Fails...
… Execute the dictator. It’s that simple. When American troops are being killed by the dozen, when the country you are occupying is threatening to break up into smaller countries, when you have militias and death squads roaming the streets and you’ve put a group of Mullahs in power- execute the dictator.

Bush's Suprising Press Conference

Big News of the day, Donald Rumsfeld is "being allowed to resign".
He will be replaced by one of Dumbya's Father's men, Robert Gates.

Bush seemed to have a mini-meltdown during the Press Conference.

When talking about why the Republicans lost so badly yesterday Bush said, "Some Americans seem to want thier representatives to be honest and ethical."

Whoa, maybe he does understand what just happened...

SPEAKER PELOSI.....I like the sound of that.

Good News for the most part.

The days of the Doormat Congress are over.

We have some oversight in our Government again.

Democrats take the House of Representatives. That gives them chairs of the committees and subpoena power.

Claire McCaskill came back from behind to win in Mossouri, thanks in part to Rush Limbaugh.

Katherine Harris was decimated in Florida. That was a trainwreck.

The final tallies are not in but it is not looking good for Nancy Skinner, unfortunately.

I did a little work for her campaign and I liked her as a cantidate. I think she has a lot of good ideas and she seems very genuine.

There are just too many rich people here in Oakland County who actually benefitted from those tax cuts.

That said, Nancy came very close (48% last I saw) especially for such a strong Republican county.

Bush Salutes America

Great video inspired by Patriotboy:

Popular Photo Mocking Kerry is Fake

What a non-suprise. Photo of Solders with Banner mocking Kerry is Fake.

"A photograph mocking Sen. John Kerry that has gotten enormous TV, radio and online exposure has turned out to have Minnesota roots.

Members of a unit under the command of the Minnesota National Guard created the intentionally misspelled sign.

The sign, painted in thick, blue letters across a white banner says, "Halp us Jon Carry -- We R stuck hear n Irak."

The picture of the sign, held by eight soldiers, has raced across the Web and TV newscasts for the past three days.

Lt. Col. Kevin Olson, a spokesman for the Minnesota National Guard, said Thursday that the "Red Bull" logo and the number "1-34," seen on the bumper of a truck in the photo, indicate that the soldiers pictured are under the command of a Minnesota unit.

About 2,600 Minnesota Guard members have been deployed to Iraq and attached to the 1/34 Brigade Troops Battalion. The unit has soldiers from Minnesota and five other states, Olson said."

Olbermann Compares GOP to Preston Brooks

When Congressman Preston Brooks finally realized that Slavery was going to come to an end as a way of life in America, and that his power structure was about to collapse, he approached Senator Charles Sumner, a leading Anti-Slavery activist, on the floor of the Senate and began beating him with his cane.


Mr. Olbermann is appropriately pointing out the similarity to the attacks on Michael J Fox and Senator John Kerry this week by a GOP powerbase that rightly feels threatened.

Part 1.


Part 2.


.

Arms Control Center talks about Tactical Nuke in Baghdad

Dispite the silence from the Pentagon, people are still talking about the video of the explosion in Baghdad earlier this month that had the telltale bright flash of light, rising column of fire and mushroom cloud.

According to the Arms Control Center (www.armsControlCenter.org) a "Tactical" nuclear weapon differs from a "strategic" nuclear weapon as follows:

"Strategic Nuclear Weapons" are the largest warheads, over 1 Megaton (1 million tons of TNT) in yield, with the highest yield blasts, designed to destroy entire cities or hardened military targets.

"Tactical Nuclear Weapons" are smaller warheads, with low yields from 0.1 to Kiloton (100 Tons of TNT) to 1 Megaton (1 million tons of TNT) designed to be used ON A BATTLEFIELD in a specific theater of operations. Hence, Tactical Nuclear Weapons create a much smaller blast, much lower blast area and far smaller blast wave (wind).

The Arms Control Center also says Tactical Nuclear Weapons can be as small as an artillery shell.

The explosion in the video seems to indicate exactly that type of tactical nuclear explosion. The brilliant white flash is key to making this identification. As seen in the video, the flash was far more spectacular (by a factor
of 100) and lasted far longer than any and all other explosions at the ammo dump. This fits what one would
expect to see with a 0.1 Kiloton tacical nuclear detonation.

Morgan Spurlock Making Sense

Did Tactical Nukes or Daisycutters Explode in Baghdad?

That seems to be the question of the year.

More footage by U.S. soldiers. This is good quality. The soldiers in the video don't even seem to know exactly what is exploding in front of them. You can hear them asking repeatedly what kind of ordinance was in there.

"That shockwave almost knocked me off my feet." - U.S. Soldier in background.

-----

"This shit is just beginning man." - U.S. Soldier & Cameraman

-----

"It would be a damn miracle if nobody gets hurt." - U.S. Soldier #1

-----

"Well, looks like we will be getting few more squads in." - U.S. Soldier #1

"To do what?" U.S. Soldier #2

"Stand around and look at flames." U.S. Soldier #1

These are truly the stakes.

The Camp Falcon Coverup

Did a Tactical Nuke go off in southern Baghdad on October 10th? Or was it a Dasiycutter that went off in the city?

This is possibly the biggest story of the year and most Americans won't hear a peep about it out of the Corporate American Media.

I have often wondered just how desperate the Republicans are right now. What lengths would they go to in order to preserve their power in the coming election?

We already know about the gerrymandering, and the crooked secretaries of state who are bought and paid for by republicans and their corporate masters. We know about Choicepoint, Inc. and the lists of votes that were thrown out.

But if we were attacked and the situation in Iraq has taken a serious turn for the worse, would they try to cover it up? For instance, if we had an Ammo dump in Baghdad attacked and a tactical nuke was detonated during that attack, would they tell the American people? Or would they clam up and hope nobody noticed?

If this breaking story is true, then it is going to be HUGE.

On October 10th, Iraqi insurgents launched at attack described as "one of the most sustained and ferocious mortar and rocket attacks in three years."

During this attack, the insurgents blew up an Ammo Dump at Camp Falcon. It was the largest U.S. Ammo dump in Iraq and reportedly contained some depleated Uranium and Chemical weapons. The size of some explosions have led to suspisions there were also tactical nukes or possibly daisycutters in that dump as well. The Pentagon initially reported no casualties but Arabic News Services have reported 9 cargo planes of casualties were unloaded at the al-Habbaniyah military hospital.

Pictures and video that have made it to the Internet show huge explosions that reportedly lasted three hours. Some pictures show explosions so large that from miles away it turned the night into day.

Here is a Video of the Explosions from an Arabic News Service. At 3:57 in the video there is a huge explosion and mushroom cloud. What the hell is going on over there?!?!



Here is a timeline of the story so far, titled Camp Falcon, What Really Happened?

The U.S. government is being unusually quiet about an attack of this magnitude, and as usual the corporate U.S. media is following suit and not asking any questions.
Fortunately, information is getting out via foreign and independant news agencies.

I will post more as more information comes out.

Catchy Nancy Skinner Ad

The Ads the Democrats Should be Running

These are fantastic.

Better,


Our Country,


Medicine,


And Finally one for Halloween,

The Infameous Corker Racist Ad

What is the RNC thinking? They are airing this slimy ad in Tennessee, against Harold Ford, Jr. The racist overtones are really hard to miss. There is one segment of the ad that feels like an old Sesame Street segment "One of these things doesn't belong here".



Every segment with someone talking on the street had something to do with public policy except one.

The apparently naked white woman claiming to have had sex with the cantidate who also just happens to be a black man... hmmmm...

What public policy does that address exactly?

Harold Ford Jr. put out this in response to the nastiness of the campaign being waged against him.



There is something I am missing in this story because I don't know what he meant by "I love my family and I won't speak ill of them."

Something That Really Touched Me

On October 2nd, Carl Roberts IV walked into an Amish Schoolhouse in Lancaster, PA, killed five young school girls, injured five others and then shot himself.

Carl Roberts IV was not Amish. He did not have anything against the Amish as a people. He chose them because he rightly thought they made an easy target. That’s the catch-22 of pacifism; it makes you an easy target and thus can attract trouble. He had some kind of fixation on young girls and he targeted these girls to take out his pent up frustration on. Mr. Roberts was obviously severely mentally fucked up.

The thing that has gotten to me was the reaction of the Amish people.

Before they even buried their children, they publicly forgave the man who lined their daughters up against a chalkboard, tied their feet together and shot them one at a time, execution style.

Damn.

I found that deeply touching.

But then... they did what really got to me.

As letters, flowers and donations started pouring in from all over the world, the Amish Elders set up a committee to decide how that money should best be spent.

One of the first things they did was set up a fund for the wife and children of the man who committed this horrendous offense against them.

These people exemplified precisely what Jesus really taught.

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.
- Luke 6:27-30

A lot of Conservative Christians like to talk about how America was founded on Christian principles but in my opinion nothing has exposed how far we have strayed from them more than these simple people and their generous acts of kindness.

Can you imagine a different universe where, on September 12th 2001 our President would have gotten on TV and forgiven the men who hijacked and crashed those planes and then announced an aid package for the families of the men who committed the attack?

Can you imagine how, in the real world, those same Christian Conservatives (along with most Americans) would have attacked any President who dared even consider such a reaction to 9-11?

Anybody who has ever been a victim of any violent crime can relate in some tiny way, to what it takes emotionally, to be capable of such forgiveness.

I think this is an example to aspire to.

ROFLMFAO!!!

Only a true computer nerd is gonna get this. My favorite part is the very end. "I am root!"

TV Ads the DNC Should Be Running

DailyKos has a link to some great parodies of the apple vs pc ads. They are doing Republicans vs Democrats and they are hilareous!

Baghdad Burning is Back

Riverbend, a girl blogger in Iraq, is finally back after a long absence from blogging to talk about the Lancet study.

The latest horror is the study published in the Lancet Journal concluding that over 600,000 Iraqis have been killed since the war. Reading about it left me with mixed feelings. On the one hand, it sounded like a reasonable figure. It wasn't at all surprising. On the other hand, I so wanted it to be wrong. But... who to believe? Who to believe....? American politicians... or highly reputable scientists using a reliable scientific survey technique?

The responses were typical- war supporters said the number was nonsense because, of course, who would want to admit that an action they so heartily supported led to the deaths of 600,000 people (even if they were just crazy Iraqis…)? Admitting a number like that would be the equivalent of admitting they had endorsed, say, a tsunami, or an earthquake with a magnitude of 9 on the Richter scale, or the occupation of a developing country by a ruthless superpower… oh wait- that one actually happened. Is the number really that preposterous? Thousands of Iraqis are dying every month- that is undeniable. And yes, they are dying as a direct result of the war and occupation (very few of them are actually dying of bliss, as war-supporters and Puppets would have you believe).

For American politicians and military personnel, playing dumb and talking about numbers of bodies in morgues and official statistics, etc, seems to be the latest tactic. But as any Iraqi knows, not every death is being reported. As for getting reliable numbers from the Ministry of Health or any other official Iraqi institution, that's about as probable as getting a coherent, grammatically correct sentence from George Bush- especially after the ministry was banned from giving out correct mortality numbers. So far, the only Iraqis I know pretending this number is outrageous are either out-of-touch Iraqis abroad who supported the war, or Iraqis inside of the country who are directly benefiting from the occupation ($) and likely living in the Green Zone.

R.I.P HABEUS CORPUS

Keith Olbermann nailed it again tonight. Republicans have succeeded in their dream of destroying the Constitution.

Ask yourself:

If you are pulled off the street tomorrow, and they call you an "unlawful enemy combatant" — exactly how are you going to convince them to give you a court hearing to prove you are not?

Thoughts on North Korea

When it comes to the secretive and nefarious North Korea, intelligence is limited. We should take every opprotunity to listen to someone who might know what he is talking about.

Hwang Jang Yop is the highest-ranking North Korean government official ever to defect to South Korea. He defected in 1997 at the age of 74. He was a high level official in the North Korean government who knew it's leader, Kim Jong Il personally for years. And he does not like Kim Jong Il. He has even described him as a "Devil".

He is described thusly:

He had been close to the country's founder, Kim Il Sung, the father of Kim Jong Il, and is often described as the younger Kim's former mentor. Hwang is also widely seen as the intellectual architect of the North's "juche" philosophy of self sufficiency.

Mr Hwang has known for a long time that North Korea has nuclear ambitions. He claimed that they signed a deal with Pakistan in 1996 for Uranium technology.

Mr. Hwang has also said that North Korea "Cannot use" Nuclear Weapons because they were only "intended as a threat".

That means that the Republicans' current policy of treating North Korea as a threat is playing right into their hands and legitimizing their quest for nuclear weapons.

Mr. Hwang says that "Six Party Talks are useless" with North Korea and that "sanctions won't work" because they won't hurt Kim Jong Il.

According to Hwang, the key to ending the North Korean threat is... China.

China is the last remaining ally and main aid donor to its impoverished neighbor, but their relations have been strained by Beijing's support of the U.N. resolution. Still, Beijing succeeded in blocking an even tougher one pushed by the U.S. and Japan.

"No Chinese officials like the North Korean leader, but they keep him in power," Hwang said, adding that Kim's regime serves Beijing's interests by helping keep U.S. influence in the region at bay.

Democrats Detail Solutions

Nancy Skinner, Democratic Candidate for Congress, wrote another fantastic piece, detailing her plan to revitalize America's economy, save our outsourced manufacturing base and significantly reduce factors that worsen global warming, all at the SAME TIME!

Meanwhile Republicans continued to stumble around, pointing fingers and making toothless threats.

Ask yourself next month, who would you rather see lead?

Democrats who have a plan to reverse our downward spiral...

or Republicans who can't decide if they want to "stay the course" or "Cut and run."

Republican Poster Child - Mike Tyson!?!

You Know You Are Desperate For Endorsements When...

If I were running for anything the last person I would want endorsing me is a convicted rapist known for biting ears off his opponents.

STRONGSVILLE, Ohio // U.S. Senate candidate Michael S. Steele garnered support from an unlikely source Monday -- former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson.

At the news conference in Ohio, where he will return to the ring Friday night, Tyson wore a white-and-blue "Steele for U.S. Senate" T-shirt as he posed for photos with fans and signed autographs.

Mike Shared his expert knowledge of politics with the press:

Tyson said he used to believe black Republicans were "sellouts," but he said he changed his mind after researching the Maryland lieutenant governor.

Mike's epiphany that led him to support a Republican also leads him to believe it is now ok to fight women.

At a news conference at an Italian restaurant, Tyson said he would likely go just four rounds and that future stops on the tour might include bouts with women, possibly professional boxer Ann Wolfe.

When asked if he was joking about fighting women, Tyson said, "I'm very serious."

Republican Pleads Guilty to Bribery

This is not a good year for Republicans. All their chickens seem to be coming home to roost at once.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Republican Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio pleaded guilty Friday to federal charges in the congressional investigation into corruption and bribery involving disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, according to the Justice Department.

Robert F Kennedy Jr Endorses Nancy Skinner

Nancy Skinner's new campaign ad highlights the fact she is running on a platform of solutions and innovative ideas. All "Toilet" Joe Knollenburg has to offer, on every subject, is "Do nothing and we will be ok."

Nancy Skinner For Alternative Fuels

Nancy makes the argument that alternative fuels are possible, but we have to make an effort. This is from 2003 during her anti-SUV campaign. She proposes to take back the welfare money our government currently pays to the oil industry and invest that into making fuel cells viable in the near future, rather then the distant future.

Conservatism is a Mental Illness

I knew it!

A study funded by the US government has concluded that conservatism can be explained psychologically as a set of neuroses rooted in "fear and aggression, dogmatism and the intolerance of ambiguity".

Solving the Korean Stalemate, One Step at a Time

More solutions from Democrats.

While the rightwingers wring their hands, point their fingers and make blustering threats.

By JIMMY CARTER
Published: October 11, 2006

In 1994 the North Koreans expelled inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency and were threatening to process spent nuclear fuel into plutonium, giving them the ability to produce nuclear weapons.

With the risk of war on the Korean Peninsula, there was a consensus that the forces of South Korea and the United States could overwhelmingly defeat North Korea. But it was also known that North Korea could quickly launch more than 20,000 shells and missiles into nearby Seoul. The American commander in South Korea, Gen. Gary Luck, estimated that total casualties would far exceed those of the Korean War.

Responding to an invitation from President Kim Il-sung of North Korea, and with the approval of President Bill Clinton, I went to Pyongyang and negotiated an agreement under which North Korea would cease its nuclear program at Yongbyon and permit inspectors from the atomic agency to return to the site to assure that the spent fuel was not reprocessed. It was also agreed that direct talks would be held between the two Koreas.

The spent fuel (estimated to be adequate for a half-dozen bombs) continued to be monitored, and extensive bilateral discussions were held. The United States assured the North Koreans that there would be no military threat to them, that it would supply fuel oil to replace the lost nuclear power and that it would help build two modern atomic power plants, with their fuel rods and operation to be monitored by international inspectors. The summit talks resulted in South Korean President Kim Dae-jung earning the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize for his successful efforts to ease tensions on the peninsula.

But beginning in 2002, the United States branded North Korea as part of an axis of evil, threatened military action, ended the shipments of fuel oil and the construction of nuclear power plants and refused to consider further bilateral talks. In their discussions with me at this time, North Korean spokesmen seemed convinced that the American positions posed a serious danger to their country and to its political regime.

Responding in its ill-advised but predictable way, Pyongyang withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, expelled atomic energy agency inspectors, resumed processing fuel rods and began developing nuclear explosive devices.

Six-nation talks finally concluded in an agreement last September that called for North Korea to abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs and for the United States and North Korea to respect each other’s sovereignty, exist peacefully together and take steps to normalize relations. Each side subsequently claimed that the other had violated the agreement. The United States imposed severe financial sanctions and Pyongyang adopted the deeply troubling nuclear option.

The current military situation is similar but worse than it was a decade ago: we can still destroy North Korea’s army, but if we do it is likely to result in many more than a million South Korean and American casualties.

If and when it is confirmed that the recent explosion in North Korea was nuclear, the international community will once again be faced with difficult choices.

One option, the most likely one, is to try to force Pyongyang’s leaders to abandon their nuclear program with military threats and a further tightening of the embargoes, increasing the suffering of its already starving people. Two important facts must be faced: Kim Jong-il and his military leaders have proven themselves almost impervious to outside pressure, and both China and South Korea have shown that they are reluctant to destabilize the regime. This approach is also more likely to stimulate further nuclear weapons activity.

The other option is to make an effort to put into effect the September denuclearization agreement, which the North Koreans still maintain is feasible. The simple framework for a step-by-step agreement exists, with the United States giving a firm and direct statement of no hostile intent, and moving toward normal relations if North Korea forgoes any further nuclear weapons program and remains at peace with its neighbors. Each element would have to be confirmed by mutual actions combined with unimpeded international inspections.

Although a small nuclear test is a far cry from even a crude deliverable bomb, this second option has become even more difficult now, but it is unlikely that the North Koreans will back down unless the United States meets this basic demand. Washington’s pledge of no direct talks could be finessed through secret discussions with a trusted emissary like former Secretary of State Jim Baker, who earlier this week said, “It’s not appeasement to talk to your enemies.”

What must be avoided is to leave a beleaguered nuclear nation convinced that it is permanently excluded from the international community, its existence threatened, its people suffering horrible deprivation and its hard-liners in total control of military and political policy.

Jimmy Carter, the 39th president, is the founder of the Carter Center and the winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize.

Jeb Bush Goes into the Closet

This is too funny. The heat is on. The President's brother is not a popular person and he doesn't keep very popular friends.

By now, Mr. Bush was cornered. He was surrounded by signs that said "Pittsburgh is a Santorum Free Zone," "Honk if you're sick of Rick," and a crowd growing increasingly louder, according to Mr. Vandenburgh...

As a precaution, the governor was ushered into a T-station supply closet and stayed there until the crowd left.

The Democrats' Positive Message

100Actions.com has a post called "Spread Our Positive Message" that's worth checking out...

It's not enough to harp on unethical and incompetent Republican behavior. Remind your friends and family of the Democratic Agenda and the many reasons to vote for Democrats this fall.

Below are seven of the planned positive changes Democrats plan to make:

1. Double the size of Special Forces to destroy Osama Bin Laden and terrorist networks like al Qaeda.

2. Implement the bipartisan 9/11 Commission proposal to secure America’s borders and ports and screen 100% of containers.

3. Prohibit the Congressional pay raise until the nation's minimum wage is raised.

4. Make college tuition deductible from taxes, permanently. Cut student loan interest rates. Expand Pell Grants.

5. Pass initiatives for energy-efficient technologies and domestic alternatives such as biofuels.

6. Fix the Medicare prescription drug program, putting seniors first by negotiating lower drug prices and ending wasteful giveaways to drug companies and HMOs.

7. Promote stem cell research that offers real hope to millions of American families who suffer from devastating diseases.

Nancy Skinner for Congress

You Know Your Campaign is Going Badly When...

This is like Christmas in October.

The Backstory:

On September 15, 2004, a woman locked herself inside the bathroom of Sherwood's Washington, D.C. apartment, and called 911 to report she was assaulted. When police arrived, the woman, Cynthia Ore, accused Sherwood of choking her, though he maintained he was only giving her a backrub. No charges were filed because both Sherwood and Ore refused to provide any details.

The details of that incident went unnoticed until 2005, when Veronica Hannevig, who ran against Sherwood on the Constitution Party ticket in 2004, distributed a copy of the police report to several newspapers and television stations. Sherwood initially contended that Ore was merely a "casual acquaintance". [1] He eventually admitted he had a five-year extramarital affair with Ore, but denied abusing her. [2]

Ore later filed a $5.5 million lawsuit against Sherwood, accusing him of repeatedly assaulting her during their relationship. [3] On November 8, 2005, Sherwood and Ore ended the lawsuit by reaching a settlement, the terms of which were not released.

The Ore incident damaged Sherwood’s standing with some Republicans. In April 2006, Martha Rainville, a Republican running for the U.S. House seat in Vermont, announced that she would return a campaign contribution from Sherwood’s political action committee. She cited her belief in "strong family values". [4] But Sherwood received strong support from Republican leaders for the 2006 Republican primary in his district

The Plot in PageGate Thickens

Hastert only has days to save his job.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, under fire for his handling of the Foley page scandal, may have just one or two days to turn the affair around–or quiet it– or face being forced to step aside, say senior GOP House and party officials.

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Congressman Tom Reynolds, who has been accused of covering up about Mark Foley's predatory practices, tried to hide behind a group of children today to avoid questions about the Foley scandal.

"Reporter: Congressman, do you mind asking the children to leave the room so we can have a frank discussion of this, because it's an adult topic. It just doesn't seem appropriate to me.

Reynolds: I'll take your questions, but I'm not going to ask any of my supporters to leave.

Reporter: Who are the children, Congressman? Who are these children?

Reynolds: Pardon me?

Reporter: Who are these children?

Reynolds: Well, a number of them are from the community. There are several of the "thirtysomething" set that are here and uh I've known them and I've known their children as they were born.

Reporter: Do you think it's appropriate for them to be listening to the subject matter though?

Reynolds: Sir, I'll be happy to answer your questions, I'm still, uh…"

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And if you think that is shameful, then check this out:
Matt Drudge blamed the victims. He said the pages were "egging the congressman on".

"And if anything, these kids are less innocent — these 16 and 17 year-old beasts…and I've seen what they're doing on YouTube and I've seen what they're doing all over the internet — oh yeah — you just have to tune into any part of their pop culture. You're not going to tell me these are innocent babies. Have you read the transcripts that ABC posted going into the weekend of these instant messages, back and forth? The kids are egging the Congressman on! The kids are trying to get this out of him. We haven't got the whole story on this."