Not Just

IN PASSING.
Benazir Bhutto

Special thanks to:
GoLeft.TV and Thom Hartmann

Note: New Label WholeE Days

Holiday Wishes Passed and Past

Here's hoping your holidays were meaningful.
Happy WholeE Days!
And may each day be so.

Global Communications

I was just wondering what the Office of Global Communications has been up to. Not to mention where the dialogue has been and where the Global Messenger has been going.

Now there has been a new project to add to the amount of work that we must all do since the three branches of government and the press have done such a heckuva job.

My comment is that the light of day does not necessarily clarify if the source is not trusted. That and the reasonable caution that there will be so much more put out there. In fact if the source is in the dark, who would you trust, and how would we verify, unless we trust someone. I'm sure the answer is somewhere.

Meanwhile my concern is the link to the word propaganda. It is not a bad thing, but it is more likely an unverifiable thing.

Meanwhile 2.0 or <-0.0> meaning preemptively: the Neo-Context
as in excuses to review a recent NIE and that is being reviewed as to the quality of its estimate.

Thank You Senators Dodd and Reid

It is about time.
[between these lines? accountability is long overdue for so many misdeeds]
Thank Dodd as he thanks others. [ * ]
Telecom Immunity Issue Derails Spy Law Overhaul
Reid Pulls Legislation, Citing Insufficient Time Before Recess
By Jonathan Weisman and Paul Kane
Washington Post Staff Writers

[ UPDATE 12-20-07: 2007 Democrats were more successful than 1995 Republicans but I must say...
And thanks to Rachel Maddow, and Campaign for America's Future,
a report Block-and-Blame GOP Stymies Progress]

Others:
Spying started well before 9-11
My:
QCON
Fourth Estate Blowing It.
Speake Strongly and Carry Little Stick
Rice Lacuna Planning Update.
[Note--See Comment-- I have pretty much updated the previous related links,
but lost in the mud or rice paddy is the problem,
lack of faith in nation building and the foundations and processes
otherwise updated in the right column as OUR FREEDOM and THE LAW.

[ * ]Disclosure: [I bought a Kucinich T-Shirt for his courage at the NW Progessive Convention but it must be remembered that the House has no filibuster, and the Senate has had many missed opportunities. And both have had untold negotiations and tactics.]

FCC Decision is in. Throw it out.

FCC’s New Media Rules Worse than Advertised
FreePress.net

Take Action Here.

Previous Request
UPDATE: S. 2332

ABA Retracts "Lawyer" of the Years

two posts back I note the "award" by the ABA to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, which has now been renamed Newsmaker of the Year.

Much ado about nothing? [*]
ABA statement
New Headline

[*] Not if you read the full articles or at least review the runners-ups. In particular and Previously noted. And Deeper.

QCON: The "much ado about nothing" is over the idea that we/they are quibbling about definitions or headlines while if one reads full articles, they (the article) might be understood. If one can rely on others to jump to conclusions, one need not even get that far. But this is progress in getting lawyers to improve their reporting. Not to mention their foresight.

See Link thanks to GoLeft.TV
See Help Navigate

Mixed News: colors and letters

Just the point of TheLiaisonReport
Good News Sad News: Which came first the chicken or the sky is falling?

OK maybe I am mixing metophores or stretching the points to find a line, but HorsesAss.Org dropped this and I don't know if it is his scoop on The Scarlet Letter.

Sad news first: Washington State Senator Brian Weinstein will not be seeking a second term. He was a fiesty progressive.

Good news then: there will be an open race on the House side, because Republican Representative Fred Jarrett will run for Brian's Senate seat as a Democrat. He was a progressive Republican.

Kudos to Goldy for the punditry and analysis on this flip-flop, not to characterize any of them here. From my perspective maybe Fred was not a progressive Republican, he was probably D progressive Republican. That is my wisecrack for the night. I better save any personal sense of them for later.

ABA Lawyer of the Year

Alberto Gonzales

I'm not a lawyer and I had to coin a field to be something on these and other pages, but I will save my punditry for later. Here I will just add that not only is Gonzales the Lawyer of the Year and rumor has it that Mukasey is next year's winner, but what else they are is worth figuring out.

OK, I could not stay off my punditry that far or long, but my line of thinking is that unless the law is violated, it cannot get a hearing, and it is patriotic to violate the law for just that purpose, unless it has been preemptive in its scope. In that case, sometimes the law has been interpreted to not apply to some and others interpret not to look, while the real patriots cannot even be found.

Hmmm. Maybe trying to stay off a line, gets us somewhere, but it will be for who knows who to figure out. Congress?

[Original usage: "I'm not a doctor...".]

Unity '08

UPDATE:
Third party entering presidential raceNovember 6th, 2007
Build a new political platform - from the people on up September 30, 2007.
Uniting for 2008 November 12, 2007.

Ahead of the Curve?
Not Exactly.

Partisan Disclosure:
Unity '08 Poll Participant
Democratic Party Activist

Op-Ed Background:
the "uniter"
Back and Forth
"between the lines"
See Far Right Column "Help Navigate"

FIXING NEWS!!!!

as opposed to BREAKING NEWS!!!!
and counter to "Fair and Balanced"
and replacing [*] the MSM
(Main Stream Media)
the AKA or so-called "liberal media"

A project worth what?
The Air We Breathe?

Earlier projections: Media Filter
Congratulations KPTK! WE GOT ED!

[*] minutemanmedia.org

Rehash or Just Hash.

Hill Briefed on Waterboarding in 2002
In Meetings, Spy Panels' Chiefs Did Not Protest, Officials Say
By Joby Warrick and Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, December 9, 2007; A01

Or Sour Mash?
Washington Post: Democrats Including Pelosi Told of Waterboarding in 2002
jonathanturley.org

The implications are that there could be something wrong with the pressure that Democrats are under, either from the actual facts of the situation or the interpretation from some perspectives. But it better be cleared up before the lid blows off the principles of this nation or the party, let alone our hopes for progress. This is my take on this, the implications also being that this may not be breaking news but a matter that I have already filtered and others are just getting to the party. I think the simplest explanation is that full disclosure was not done and then even more disclosure was not allowed, but the use of that information in leadership roles is going to be eventually explained if not utilized for the common good. But that is just what is so hard to count on, and meanwhile the "hard work" of our troops and our grassroots, let alone any base is being squandered, or should I say, about to go down the drain.

I must note that I had heard Jonathan Turley speak on this issue on the Randi Rhodes show yesterday, but I have yet to more than barely start to read either of these articles.

[Correction: I did read four paragraphs of Jonathan Turley's piece and just thought there was more, and I must give a lot of credit to his fourth paragraph:

This also explains the failure of the Democrats to block votes that seemed to legitimate waterboarding and unlawful surveillance. If true, the knowledge of Democratic leaders shows a deep disconnect and possible dishonesty between our representatives and the voters. In many ways, this will be the test of our political system. If the public returns to its prior slumber after this story, there is little hope for a system that seems to replicate this type of conduct.

I don't really know what the public can do, but the Democrats better do more than wonder and not wander through any course that does not correct their staggering work.

Local Content

See Labels: Local(at bottom of this post)
or LABELS
INDEX
TO DIGEST
HELP NAVIGATE
Or THE GAME(I have consolidated from the right collumn.)

HERE IS THE LOCAL CONTENT INDEX (Incomplete).
King County Executive Race

Local Radio
Thank you Dave Ross
Lefty Blog
"Thank you Veterans" Day
NW Progressive Convention
Northwest Perspective Update
Home Economics
Eastside Democratic Dinner
Attorney General Gonzales Retreats
Perfect Presidents or Perfect Politicians?
Happy Subpoenas Day
Happy Earth Day
Presidential Profiles
Fare Market Ideas
Face The Music!
Legislative District Townhall Meeting
What's going on?
SJM 8016 / US Attorney Scandal
All Politics Is Local?

This may be a lame local link as it only references a local reporter, but it is also at issue that local papers may be bought out by conglomerations. Far from lame though I almost missed (in this update) the other link thereSpecial to the Times by someone I know and is even more local. Thank You, Donald Smith.

Romney takes leap

of faith with religion speech
CNN Politics.com -/- Power Line

"I'm not going to be giving a JFK speech,"

-/-

"Freedom requires religion..."
"A President must serve only the common cause of the people of the United States."

"public domain"
"the religion of secularism"
"tHEy are wrong"

"trust"
"the equality of human kind"
"to serve"
"liberty"
"public square"
"under God"

"these convictions will indeed inform "

"constitutional order"
"free exercise"

"I'm not sure that we fully appreciate..."

Enough?

In John Adams’ words: 'We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion... Our constitution was made for a moral and religious people.'

I return to the quote he used. And note that the preceding words are all parsed from his speech. If you don't "trust" that, use control find (Ctrl "F") on your keyboard and screen for the words you choose to "verify". Rather than read between the lines, I will let you leap between the segments above and now I will do the same with the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

You will find "under God" in neither but you will find "God" is in the first paragraph of our Declaration of Independence.
Once and only there.

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. -- That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, -- That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed...

I could "of course" cherry pick or parse more words, but it is all in the putting together. You might want to search other words like "creator" or "power" and you will find no more of the former and much of the latter and where, but this...

I will leave to you.

[Note: I have taken the liberty to italicize some words and some bold, and here note that a -/- (dash slash dash) gives separation between the sources and parsed words at the top of this post, while in the blockquote -- (two dashes) actually are each one long dash and are for emphasis it seems or high light.]
[It is not that it was a bad speech, but he is "no Kennedy" and may be a better "Reagan". But that is a double-edged comment. ]

Brief Analysis and Whose Is Full of It.

"Neocon Job"
By Keith Olbermann
MSNBC Countdown
Marionette, moron or mud in the hole. What a pile.
And who gets it in the shorts.
Speaking of the "snake oil salesman" and Olbermann was, I literally had to go out and rent a "snake" for my other responsibilities(definition 3) . So the metaphors fly and let us wish it were only mud down the drain.
Oh, and I recently bought a few strainers, go filter.

[12-16-07: See commentS (2) believed link related to original Neo-Con report from Olbermann. At present.]

Remember Pearl Harbor!

And learn from it.
But just what was learned?

Historical Mountain Missing

21st Century Coverup
CNN's Jack Cafferty on CREW's discovery that 10,000,000 White House e-mails are missing.
CREW Team * a "Government Watchdog Group"

*sorry for the visual
But more rowing in the mud and it may be a photo finish.

Speaking of Cracking the Code (and How to Win Hearts, Change Minds and Restore America's Original Vision, I am slightly more than midway through my autographed edition, but it is what I have been doing / for years. Reading between the lines (if not not finishing books or links) [speaking of finishing 12-19-07 ] here is the most powerful dig at their world view.

The shovel they keep piling on mud and B_S_ with, so the trickle down flows, and the plumbers can plug and leak, and the flatearthers can have their boats and their rising tide. From missing tapes [*]segments, to missing emails, from violated FISA to the Presidential Records Act. The Trickle Down is right in the middle of the two Plumbers problem which congress needs to flush. From the Nixon administration plugging leaks to the Bush administration using leaks, it is all about the flow and control of information, and holding government and the press accountable. It is not just in the constitution, it is on the people.

[*] [12-11-07: I was not even thinking of or cognisant of the just broken news about the CIA interrogation videos being destroyed. Here are just three quick links which I will read later-- The Blotter ABC News -- Washingtonpost.com -- MSNBC -- ]

Second?

[Dug out from previous post.]
Three strikes you're out or third times a charm?
You've heard of Whitewater.
You've heard of Blackwater.
You've heard of Clearwater,
as in CCR. Creedence Clearwater Revival
Now you must hear of the latest CCR.
Center for Constitutional Rights or
Credence Clearwater Revival

[From the last post, the preemptive links refer to earlier comments regarding the link to Watergate, (Hmmm, I forgot, more water), actually a phrase from that era:

"What did the president know, and when did he know it?

Since the Neo-cons are not that dumb, but are preemptive, the questions should be:

"What did the president not know and when did he not want to know it?"

They are still going *, and we are still waiting.

* "words fly" NPR
hawking threat
"still going"

And still dancing in briefs. or thru Smoke and mirrors.
President not briefed on details he briefs Olmert on.

The point is, the administration is promoting offensive behavior and misrepresetation of intelligence before the intelligence has been fully studied, and it is really probably the case that the administration does not have the intelligence (in evidence or thinking) until someone reads it to them the way they want to hear it, and the president might not hear it until it is what someone wants him to hear or they know it is what he wants to hear. But the case is that he is operating on principles and facts that he expects other to support him on, while they do not get it either. BINGO! Maybe I can get to a point. Until he is forced to come clean we will have more water works of trickle down, and I have a hunch the alernative or delay tactic will be that Cheney will be the dam or water fallguy. Boy, don't these metaphors flow like d'Nile.

Wake Up Congress! This is the intelligence the administration has. It is the National Intelligence Estimate. Bush gets the last word. "Estimate". He is the decider and he is not done having the estimate analyzed so he can decide and then it will be an estimate he will decide to act on. END OF STORY, End of His Story.

Not Exactly Breaking News

Howard Dean Action Figure (item)
GO TO HOPE NOT FEAR and sign the petition.

Second?
I will have to dig that up later,
but here are some preemptive links.
Search "not want to know"
April 7th, 2006
Day old note too late April 25th, 2006
Clearwater Muddy September 26th, 2006

Whistle Blowing in the Dark?

or the Neo-Plumbers plugging the leaks.

The Turd Blossom's Free Pass

Speaking of...
cover ups or is it dumps.Speaking of effluent or is it affluent, is the flow of information in the same nature? I recently made such a dump (email) and while some work in think tanks, others create septic tanks.

Well some of the sludge was dredged up in the last post.
Now to uncover or filter this:

Waxman, Mukasey and Ten Million Missing Emails
By Matt Renner
t r u t h o u t | Report

Or do we have fertilizer for greener pastures,
Democrats Seeking Answers About Report on Iran
By Roxana Tiron
The Hill
Senate Judiciary Democrats Push Contempt Motion
By Susan Crabtree
The Hill

New Approaches?

New Intelligence Estimate New York Times
New Approach to Terrorism Associated Press
CUT FUNDS means RAISED TAXES
Unless we consider the war won,
state and local taxes must cover the cuts.
[There is still something to be said
about the [Act to]PVRHT
and Pre-Empting Crimes] *

Much may be due about nothing.
But it is the grey areas or
"in the shadows" where they operate.

Another benign bill, but in conjunction with The Patriot Act, and failure to follow FISA or II and over 750 Presidential signing statements, do we really need more bills that will be followed at the whim of the administration? But it really is in the definitions and the intentions which are pre-emptive and likely pre-empted by intentions.

* LINK RECAP:
11-10-07 Alicia Mundy Seattle Times Washington Bureau
11-1-07 Chip Berlet quoted in this piece. In These Times
The long and the short of it?
Slate 11-27-07 ThruthOut 11-29-07

FURTHER COMMENT: Senate Bill 1959 has made strides in one area only since the House version, H.R. 1955 and that is the balance of the committee appointments, but what about the fields that will be covered, and the collections of material and the following of laws. The following is a crack at a critique of this attempt (S. 1959) to make up for the poor performance of the administration and congress in the areas of accountability:

While many disciplines and departments are involved there are three primary fields that make up the dynamics of individuals in society, and those are the Physical, Psychological, and Philosophical, and the fourth is represented by the dynamics which is about the people and their goals and that is Politics. These are the areas that need work in society before we can hope to prevent let alone predict people who will take thoughts and feelings into actions. But some of the circumstances that one guest listed as contributors to radicalization are the lack of issues being addressed by society, issues that could be said to cause violent radicalization. Issues which are just the ones that Republicans refuse to address, and Democrats just barely stand up for. Those being basic needs and government accountability

.

Others may look at the fourth dimension of this world view and think economics, religion or spirituality, but what are these all but the power of working with others.

The Air We Breathe...

The Information Horizon: OK, I mixed metaphors which I will let others complete, as I thought of the air waves and the information highway and the rising tide and being in the same boat. Well, maybe I took it one thread too far.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

TO THE FCC and CONGRESS
Take Action! [**] <<== CLICK HERE And for more action ==>HERE

The FCC must not further deregulate the air waves. It is bad enough that the public airwaves are controlled by conglomerations already, that should be remedied. But to allow the expanded ownership by the print media should be prohibited. The whole purpose of the FCC should be to regulate something that is supposed to be free, but is limited. It turns out to be quite profitable, and the print media is not on hard times, except for the competition which arises from the same conglomeration. If these cannot be regulated to be serving the public good, then they should be making a profit for the public good.

This is not just an economic issue, it is a power issue. You will use yours for good, or you will use it for power and profit. If it is the latter, you should have neither.

I was not going to make a major production out of this, and I suppose I could have included of few statistics rather than just seemingly pull this out of the air waves, but here is an example I stumbled upon today. In doing a background check (google) on Joseph Stiglitz, "Making Globalization Work",
I came across a review in my local paper by Bruce Ramsey and embedded in that piece is the following:

His book is flavored with a deep distaste for inequality. "Those who are concerned about inequality see much of it arising out of luck -- the luck of being born with good genes or rich parents or the luck of buying a piece of real estate at the right time," he writes. "Those who are less concerned feel that wealth is a reward for hard work."

It is, of course, a combination of the two. Free-traders would give freer rein to luck in order to maximize overall economic gain. Stiglitz would not.

While this may seem "fair and balanced" [*], or at least I feel that Ramsey believes he is being so, his conclusion is slanted to the freeing up of the luck, after admitting it is a combination of the two. You, ladies and gentlemen, should be working hard to make sure not only hard work is rewarded, but that you are not making it easier for those getting something for free (the air waves) while making it harder work and harder luck to compete.

[Update: A New Optimism - -A New Pre-emption - - An old Foundation]

[Update: Pre-Empting Crimes ]

[*] And not in the FOX way, but here is a fairly powerful and balanced take on the media and democracy: The Proper Imbalance ]

[**] SEE COMMENT regarding Senate Bill 2332, the "The Media Ownership Act of 2007.

Pre-empting Crimes

Remember: Humor is a tool and so is the dictionary.
While Bill Clinton hinged his excuses on "what the definition of 'is' is". The current administration has pre-empted excuses by hinging humor and the dictionary on "what the definition of everything is".

Abuse of power is the issue. While Clinton was investigated and found to have hinged his evasion of his abuse of an intern, Nixon was investigated and found to have covered up his abuses on the national level, and Bush pre-empted abuses on the international level. But now what Bush has done to get us "over there" will congress investigate too much "over here"?

If the above is too hard to follow, then try this:
Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act: S. 1959 Here is the TEXT

While the above is the senate bill by the same name here is the House version which passed: H.R. 1955

While I did read the latter, the former will be discussed on The Thom Hartmann Show. [See Update]
AM1090 Seattle 9 AM to noon

`SEC. 899A. DEFINITIONS.
`In this subtitle:

`(1) COMMISSION- The term `Commission' means the National Commission on the Prevention of Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism established under section 899C.

`(2) VIOLENT RADICALIZATION- The term `violent radicalization' means the process of adopting or promoting an extremist belief system for the purpose of facilitating ideologically based violence to advance political, religious, or social change.

`(3) HOMEGROWN TERRORISM- The term `homegrown terrorism' means the use, planned use, or threatened use, of force or violence by a group or individual born, raised, or based and operating primarily within the United States or any possession of the United States to intimidate or coerce the United States government, the civilian population of the United States, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.

`(4) IDEOLOGICALLY BASED VIOLENCE- The term `ideologically based violence' means the use, planned use, or threatened use of force or violence by a group or individual to promote the group or individual's political, religious, or social beliefs.

I hate to alert any potential terrorists but do not these definitions pertain to The Project for the New American Century ? It may be a section that united the vote for this bill, while an understanding of it, would certainly mean to change it.

[Earlier Posted Comment here:
Earlier radicals there:
Jefferson-

I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.Goldwater-

[Same Day Update: After posting the above I found this on Slate Bad Ideas]

[Update The Thom Hartmann Show: 11/29/07 ]
[11-29-07: TruthOut]

A New Optimism

Hope from Bush for Middle East Peace Spiegel Online International

White House Inaurgurates Mideast Peace Talks NPR

Urgent Diplomacy: Glasses Half Full in 11th Minute? RawStory
"We have a common duty to spread genuine hope" President Abbas Boston Globe

We express our determination to bring an end to bloodshed, suffering, and decades of conflict between our peoples; to usher in a new era of peace, based on freedom, security, justice, dignity, respect and mutual recognition; to propagate a culture of peace and nonviolence; to confront terrorism and incitement, whether committed by Palestinians or Israelis. (joint statement)

Maybe we should hope for this over here,
before we can hope for it, over there.
Now that would be the real "hard work".*
A timeline for Peace? "Much Ado About Annapolis" Common Dreams

[Finally: The Rice Legacy "the one calling the shots." NPR

*[search blog] "optimism" and "hard work"

Update

Media Filter
Third Times a Charm?
See Comments.
[What about The Game?]

[ 11-29-07: Maybe I have reached my limit: (note recent updates have not been dated but likely linked][But they always have brackets, and now I will include a three here.

A New Optimism
Pre-empting Crimes
The Air We Breath...

The Game ]

Third Times a Charm?

Nixon
Clinton
Bush?

November 20thth Blame Bush and Cheney
Noveber 21stBlame Bush and Cheney
November 22ndBlame Media

I was hoping by the third day, we would have a headline.
I am not the Leaker-In-Chief.

Why the Democrats can't impeach.
Who would follow? Who would be the incumbent?
This is the political calculus that people may not do the math on, but who realize that if Democrats and Republicans can't stand up for the constitution and what is right, then how can they stand up against each other. And it is my opinion that they do need to stand up against each other or they will fall over alone. It is called competition. If the people don't see it, it does not mean they do not realize it is not there.

It is called politics and if politicians can not do the job in the kitchen they should not be cooks let alone serve the nation.

Happy Holidays.

THE GAME

SEE STAY THE COURSE or
HELP NAVIGATION
See Bottom Line there.
[UPDATE same day]

[5-15-08: Review - The Game is not supposed to be taken lightly, nor always meant a reference to Hard Work required of the readers. The troops are the ones that politics has bearing on most, and the reference to the media troops of ABC seems to take more credit for hard work than they actually do at times.]

[4-17-09: Update Patients for Change reminds me of Sabbatical and other Reviews.]

Local Media

AM1090 Seattle Weekday Schedule

Stephanie Miller 6 AM to 9 AM LIVE
Thom Hartmann 9 AM to Noon LIVE
Ed Schultz 12 PM to 3 PM Call 9 AM to Noon
Rachell Maddow 3 PM to 6 PM LIVE
Randi Rhodes 6 PM to 9 PM Call Noon to 3 PM
Mike Malloy 9 PM to 11 PM Call 6 PM to 9 PM

Air America Radio

THANK YOU DAVE ROSS!

For exposing the PVRHT act.
(Otherwise known as: H.R. 1955: for the Prevention of Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism)
OK, I left off(or spun off) the PA (prevention act)for its Patronizing Attitude and the quip that the act itself could fall under its own spell.
[Dave Ross interviewed Alicia Mundy (1) of the Seattle Times and Chip Berlet (2) of Political Research Associates.]

[If you read nothing further: read (1) and (2), above]

Bottom Line: The Senate should hold hearings on this act! Or have the guts to act as fast in rejecting this act as premature and ill advised based on the fear it was enacted under. One major failure of this piece is the appointment process which should be balanced in favor of the majority party. The other is the need to review current intelligence gathering and its use. That is what the committee should be limited to, if not extended to the suggestions contained here.

[OTHER COMMENTS]Congressional Quarterly Homeland Security "Boondoggle"
technocrati thought police? 3 tags
The Agonist "pointed at the Republican Party"
Video from the middle (link) 1st one Kennedy

Previous Posts:
Unity in Principle July 22nd, 2004
Intelligence for Commission
Bicameral Brain
Up The Filter August 2nd, 2004
CIA our job one November 17th, 2004
Slam Dunk to the Circular File!
The links that connect
"Slam dunk" of "pre-emptive strike" August 26th, 2006
Caution merited? September 26th,2006

Lastly: The words of the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 seems innocuous enough, but so do the words of the [Project for the New American Century] but it must be looked into. Recommendations for any new intelligence or laws must be put on hold until investigations of old intelligence and laws have been made, not to mention the Phase II.[Apparently done, yet...]
[For more radicalized research yet more conservative as in fiscally responsible consider what is already "out there" (I do not recommend you trust, but verify? YES!)

* Patronizing Attitudes may be the cause of radicalization and terrorism as spelled out in current research. Not to mention the problem of defining ideology and intelligence: having more of it, does not mean you have enough to handle it. The process is important and it must be considered what is being done to complicate the process by those who have no faith in the process, yet want to add to it.

Bonus hit: trust but verify

It may also be worthy to study the words of Thomas Jefferson under subheadings, When Revolution is the Only Answer, Consequences of Revolution, and Prospects for Reformation, and just before these The Need for Leadership:

"The moderation and virtue of a single character [i.e., George Washington] have probably prevented [the American] Revolution from being closed, as most others have been, by a subversion of that liberty it was intended to establish." --Thomas Jefferson to George Washington, 1784. ME 4:218, Papers 7:106

Speaking of "nuance" meaning nothing in this post should suggest violence is the answer, nonetheless I was surprised to find this, thinking I was reaching for something more "out there": from Goldwater

I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.

Bottom line is the people, bottom line is your job. The political spectrum is not linear but needs ones own perspective and the realization that the answer is not limited to that linear spectrum either. This should be realized by the three branches of government and the light that intelligence should shine on the process as well as the "hard work" of all people.

FURTHER: Nothing is more important than the focus on activities not words, except for the law, as proper protest must have a line to cross and confidence that there is a line to stand on and the same one to cross to suffer the consequences. And that line must be applied up and down the process and its people. And a quick search of "laws, not people" found the fog of our ways, another act that needs following up to be certain congress has done the "hard work" spelled out in their job description .

[Long Story Short: Update from Slate found after my Pre-Empting Crimes.]

MEDIA FILTER

Media Matters
Free Press
- Stop Big Media

GoLeft.TV
AM 1090 Seattle [LOCAL}
Air America Radio
Ring of Fire
Consortium News

(to be expanded)

GRIST: Environmental news and humor
Blue Washington TV *
Kucinich TV

OTHERS
The Raw Story
DalyKOS
HuffingtonPost

* This may be an example of a gimmick, hijacking the terms Blue and Washington, which is not exclusively Left or State issues, but with names like Bill Moyers and Charlie Rose, they are not exactly what is called and know as "main stream media" by the media, but may be more main stream politics.

[[A SORTING OF EARLIER FILTERING]]
Network Comedy Beats The News
Gold Standard for News
Under Ed
Switching/Fixing Networks
NewsForTheLeft - Consortium News and more
Can anyone believe this?
Bush Retreat / Fox Attack
GoLeft.TV and more
Recess War!

[UPDATE: 11-21-07 THE LEAK Center for Media and Democracy
Source Watch
My Leaks
My Earliest.]

[11-27-07: Watching the Watchers: "the media's job is to act as a B_S_ filter."

"Vanity Fair" on "the so-called liberal media" ]

[4-9-08: Labels added -GAME,GoLeftTV - see links Watching the Watchers.]

HELP NAVIGATION

[update 2-5-09 LABELS Under Construction ]

[5-15-08: (nfry)= not fully read yet * and I have not followed through with * yet.]

This page is for those who may be new (or just old) to the world of blogging or in particular my train of dialog. Politics is about help navigation of our course. This page invites you to join that world and this. Have fun, following the links, and trains of thought, otherwise known as threads. TO THE RIGHT (I have not navigated the instructions enough to see if I can move it all to the left) is a column under the heading not beating around the bush? which was suppose to mean links to other sites, but now includes links like this. HELP NAVIGATION, then LOCAL POLITICS? which has a question mark added as that is not all it is about. Not to mention that it is definitely not original. (OK, there were two tangents, otherwise considered footnotes)

SEARCH BLOG: Top left corner of every blogspot page see SEARCH BLOG to insert a word or phrase to find all posts which contain it on this blog.
[Ctrl F] to search individual post pages use your CONTROL [Ctrl key] [type "F" key] to pop up a word search on your own computer, it should probably usually work.
LABELS: like Local that categorize post subjects(content is not completely labeled, but it will be a work in progress) note: italics sometimes used to hint at double entendre or sometimes emphasis in bold. Quotation marks may reference something that is just out there unattributed or used by me somewhere else, unless noted or linked.
Links: an option below the bottom line of every post that may be there if I choose to insert a link[*]. [12-17-07 Example: In this case the link provided at the bottom is also embedded at the GoLeft.TV and I take this opportunity to note the inconvenience if you do not have high speed internet to view the video, either way you get there. ALSO there, In particular if you scroll over you will see google search and if you click will get you the list of links to one of the runners-ups. ]

[12-14-07: See THE GAME to take the trip and follow the loop.

[ Bottom Line:
There and Here and around Now.
EMBEDDED QCON Quicke Comment on News ]
[Hint: another little clue to playing the game is that by scrolling over a link with your cursor (that is the little thing your mouse moves) you can see it on your bottom line before going there.]

12-17-07: our course [link added] Earlier: Local Politics? is now Local Content.

12-18-07: Note Right Column Content
Media Filter: Media Matters etc.
The Word: A Dictionary
The Law: The Constitution
The News: GoLeft.TV
Thought Crimes Act: Stop the Preemption
Find Senate Bill: example S. 1959
Find House Resolution: example H. 1955

[*] [4-9-08: henceforth referenced as "bonus link"]

LeftyBlog?

I'm not on LeftyBlog because...
Maybe I don't like tests.
Or maybe only global tests of reality.
[FOR LOCAL CONTENT CLICK HERE : OR SEE LABEL LOCAL]
But a challenge?
This may be a work in progress.

[[BLOG LIST]]
[[LEFTYBLOG]]
[[WASHBLOG]]
[[Northwest Progressive Institute Blog]]
[[AMERICAinSOLIDARITY]]

If I label all my local material under the Local label, will that help? If I link and loop LeftyBlog to my post that helps the reader navigate, will that help?
Well this is not my usual rant, rave or ramble. Well yes it is, because I never know where I will go or end. But the challenge may be addressed by more questions answered by more questions?(see previous sentence)

Originally a look at the needs of LeftyBlog found this:

Remember, LeftyBlogs.com is for local progressive political blogs with original content. Some questions:

I did not mean to read it literally, I just did not include the questions in my cut and paste,(see un#d bullet point 4)of (a challenge) above , and then was so bold as to add bold to "connect the dots", where I will begin with the last first.[leap*] There I go again. (two tangents: not to read )
Then "all politics is local" and "politics is everything". Not to mention just not right.

OK, now I will go back and see if I can follow any of this.
LATER.

* I am tracking better, as I almost left off this quote by taking my tangent
[in the mean time, I put LEFTeBLOG at the top of my RIGHT list, where a typo fortuitously crept in]

[TheLiaisonReport - Between the mean and the out there.]
[Bottom Line: LOCAL CONTENT {UNDER CONSTRUCTION - more later}]

[[WE GOT ED!]]
[[Portland and Air America have Thom Hartmann]]

Proof of Process?

I feel that there is now mathematical proof of my PBMP.
[Power Broker Mountain Project]
While math is not my discipline, it is only a tool of a mental process in dealing with the physical world.

As I have been so bold to note the 3 words preceding in bold, what follows is everthing else.

In fact the fourth point is the riddle itself. The point, the process, the structure and the dynamics?
Everything is give and take, the rest is the result and the reason. I don't know where that came from, but where are we going?

Is it any wonder that there are 3 branches of government, so it is written? Just what is the bottom line? Is not justice the point? And where are the people, not to mention the press and the law?

The Riddle Solved?

The Riddled Foundational Perspective?

"Thank You VETERANS!" DAY

I was going to say happy Veteran's Day,
but that has always been awkward,
no matter the times.

HONOR OUR VETS!
The Living! The dead have their own day.

Thank you for your "hard work"
and the best tribute would be
to do our "hard work" at home.
If this sounds redundant or political,
that is becaus it is.

They have fought for our rights and
what better way to honor them than
to use them. Our rights not the troops.
Before there is neither left.

OK... enough of my ramble.
Thank You for your particular combination of "hard work": 1st Lt. Ehren Watada

Thank you Parade? That is really hard work.
But some are jeered.

More Hard Work?

Speaking of veterans, Thank You Major General Paul Eaton(retired) for speaking up. I have yet to comment on the events of Saturday, but continuing on the Ray of Hope theme, Admiral Fallon is speaking out and General Eaton expressed confidence in Secretary of Defense Gates, and while this report(link) is not too informative, it agrees with the General's emphasis on diplomatic and economic approaches and some hope.

Thank you Vets! And those who serve.

NW Progressive Convention

Yesterday America in Solidarity
held its first NW Progressive Convention
A friend said to me: That name sounds socialist.
That shows you how the language has been hijacked.
Does this sound socialist?

Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. Abraham Lincoln

[Presentations]
[[Presidential Poll]]

Congresswoman Lynne Woolsey - Congressman Adam Smith - CIVIL RIGHTS PANEL: 8th Congressional District Candidate Darcy Burner, ACLU Attorney Salvador Mungia, Backbone Campaign Executive Director Bill Moyer - - Retired Major General Paul Eaton - Washington Fair Trade Coalition - Washington Public Campaigns - Washington Community Action Network - Healthcare for All Washington
[Other Attendees:]
Americans United for Separation of Church and State - The Sanctuary for Veterans and Families - Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

A Different Ray of Hope.

New Attorney General Michael Mukasey
approved by the full senate 53-40
(Here it is...) DemocraticUnderground
without the votes of 4 Democratic and 1 Republican presidential candidate.
(Biden, Clinton, Dodd, Obama, McCain)

The ray of hope is that:
"Majority Democrats in the Senate have a list of expectations, too -- chiefly, that Mukasey work closely with them."
but it is clouded by the need (A) for any new laws, before the old laws(B) are found (C) to be followed(D).

[A,B,C and D footnotes are referenced to previous links from Waterboarding the Law:
A. "Congress should go further and explicitly ban ‘waterboarding’ and other so-called enhanced interrogation techniques for all parts of the government.
Both Senators Kennedy and Biden have introduced legislation to this effect."
Senator Feinstein statement.
B. "caging lists" DailyKos
C. Stop Torture The Harvard Anti-Torture Coalition
D. "a government of laws and not of men" John Adams / Dan Rather]

Ray of Hope?

Republicans see the dark side:
Backstory: An impeachment vote turnaround stuns Washington therawstory.com

Democrats see the bright side:
Benchmarking Schumer on John Bolton, David Addington and Mukasey The Huffington Post

The ray of hope is where the Republicans went wrong and the Democrats may have gone right(no pun intended), that being that the issues were kicked down the road to further the process that is politics and democracy, that will hopefully bring more to light. But then, Bush is an optimist too.

[Another Ray? [Contrl F] meaning find Pelosi in:
Noun + verb + 9/11 strategy still works Frank Rich seattlepi.com:

The House isn't even going to bring up this malevolent bill because, as Nancy Pelosi has said, there has "never been a declaration by a Congress before in our history" that "declared a piece of a country's army to be a terrorist organization."

That is a good sign.]

I MUST SAY...

THIS IS A GLOSSY PIECE OF WORK

NEW DIRECTION CONGRESS does deserve the credit.
[UPDATE 12-20-07: SEE UPDATE HERE in particular 2007 Democrats more successful... ]

But I must also say...
That if Impeachment is not on the table, it must be up someone's sleave, because I am not sure that the constitution is in either of those places.

And I hope that what is up the congresses sleave is a plan to hold the Executive Branch accountable,* or this will just be another scrap of paper(as sworn at in the last post), not worth the ink one might print it with.

* [Update: bottom line

WATERBOARDING THE LAW

Mukasey Rx Gumbo "Goodbye Democracy, and All That..."

"Lawbreaker in Chief"

One Too Many Cooks: Rx LAW

Thank Kerry

and or Whitehouse?:
"Legislation Banning ‘Caging Lists’ Introduced in Senate" Daily KOS
Belated fixes for CAGING? Not to mention my comment on the "Mukasey Rx Gumbo" (firstlink.) *


MY COMMENT OF SEVERAL DAYS AGO:

Senators:[Democrats on the Judiciary]

The Mukasey nomination must be opposed. He refuses to answer a question on a crime that is in the Military Code of Justice as well as International Law, and Bush excuses because the nominee has not been briefed and if that were required in a time of war, then no nominees could be confirmed. By this form of logic, Bush has no accountability and Congress has no role of oversight in a time of war.

The Guardian "It's not fair..."

Bush says nominee cannot answer a question if something is illegal, even if the administration is not doing it?

This must be investigated and the president held accountable for lying on this count, if anything counts.
There should also be an investigation on the scrap of paper quote.

Capitol Hill Blue
Bush swears

Scraps? Worse. Bush swears at the constitution rather than upholding it. Are you?

[While I was very impressed with the reasoning of Senator Feinstein
in this
IT DOES NOT MITIGATE MY CONCERN!
Just how can we expect Kyl-Lieberman
to hold Iran accountable,
when we cannot hold our own.]

[Finally after not necessarily reading all of the above, I DID READ THESE:
How Schumer & Feinstein May Blow the Best Chance in Years to Stop Torture,
Stoptorture The Harvard Anti-Torture Coalition

and
Mukasey's testimony raises question: Is the president above the law?
Dan Rather Hearst Newspaper ]

[ALSO See this Grim News IMPEACH CHENEY! Register your support at www.CallCongress.org ]

* What is mentioned in the constitution is the press, and here is what is left of it.

Bumper Sticker Battle

Or: Bumper Sticker on Post-its.
Black and White / Thinking

From Whose Desk?
In particular.
FOX is in the hunt.
But the big shot is Edwards.

[FOX and Edwards are the real news TO READ, the rest is my ramblin, except the Post-its. Speaking of bumper stickers I forgot one:

Nuanced? Or...
Flippin Flop ;-]

[You know? Embedded in the first paragraph of Post-its may be the heart of, or Freudian projection of the fear that propels these guys(in the administration). Muslims avoid "physical labor". ??

COMPETITION! [they fear] But that falls into a meme. I'm being facetious. Who avoids physical labor?]

SPECIAL THANKS TO: GOLEFT.TV

Rice Lacuna

At the administation's table.

It is also at the core of Bush policy.

I must thank Rachel Maddow for getting me on this track.

Memo [Comment 12-19-07 tied in to follow-up.]
Follow-up [UPDATE 12-19-07: Set Up? Walled Excuse.]
THE LINK [The Wall.]

[More than link update the grain of truth to the humor here. 12-19-07 ]

Just a little step back.

Re: My last three posts.

Law of the Sea?

Impeach!

Can we Talk?

They involve a balance of people
and the people in the balance.
Cooperation and competition,
of ideas and principles.

A missing segue may come back to me,
but Fear* is also in the balance.

Oh yes, it did return.
A bumper sticker?
Democrats: Stronger on Defense!
Republicans: Just Offensive!

[OK, multi-track]
[Democrats: Stronger and Just on Defense!
Republicans:Unjust and Just Offensive!]

So I return to my course: ALTERMAN is a must read, belated for me. but of/by/for The Nation or US?

* And Fearing Fear Itself a must read as well
UNLESS YOU FEAR Paul Krugman, or The New York Times

Law of the Sea?

This is progress.

De-Piratization?

Global Solutions? a start.

How's the law of the land going?

And international law and cooperation?

Impeach!

Karl Rove was forced to resign.*
Alberto Gonzales was forced to move on.
But force is still in the Cbeney/Bush playbook.
[I forgot one: Rumsfeld]
More important than forcing Cheney or Bush out,
is that the policies be forced to change.
Which comes first the chicken or the egg?

Can more failures be prevented without the removal of their contributors.
Can congress change the policies? Can congress prevent more mistakes?
Accountability could come later, but will the road be longer then?

Impeachment starts as an investigation. Is there not enough?
Have we had enough? Will congress allow more?
Will a movement be enough? Could any change be trusted?

* edit 6-12-14 Carl Read Karl

CAN WE TALK?

ALTERMAN
& WOMAN
The Nation
Belated?

"The conservatives may look..."

But all should read,
preferably in order...

Northwest Perspective Update

The "fair and balanced" toon?

I just updated Home Economics with a Northwest Progressive Institute piece(a must read) on a David Horsey cartoon.

Belated Push?

Udall Joins Bill that Pushes Diplomacy in Iraq
On my part that is...
I refer to this Update and cannot take the time to update it in context but link back to October 11th Support Senator Webb's Bill

Another Sort: NUKEFREE.ORG

Sort this out.
[NUCLEAR BAILOUT INCLUDED IN PENDING ENERGY BILL]
Thanks to Thom Hartmann

Read This and sign it.
And follow up, not trickle down.

The top link is a youtube video.

Home Economics

As I noted in the last post, some things I will let others sort out.
But I must do a resort of sorts. In Washington state, there is a constitutional amendment on the ballot: 8206
[SJR 8206 (1%) BUDGET STABILIZATION ACCOUNT]

The King County Democrats held a mini-debate (two presentations) and no endorsement resulted, in fact the debate was carried by the opposition. I felt that that was a reasonable result of deliberation at that moment. However I present the above link and have changed my mind. Information and who is carrying it, matter. But in context I feel that the argument that a rainy day fund would mean a 1% reduction in spending and an eventual risk to it being squandered, carried the day. But it will always depend on who is in office and not always on who is presenting the information.

[Update 10-25-07: Dino Rossi: The GOP's sacrificial lamb. Northwest Progressive Institute.]

Home Fires Burning.

Southern California was my home for 8 years.
I hope that everything that can be done will be done to stop the fires that are still raging and to protect life and property. At this times it seems lessons have been learned from Katrina, but that does not mean that there is not still a lot to learn about how to restore a community.

We have a second chance, even while the first chance needs work. But will it take a third to get our guard up and restored to its proper role and preparedness? I did not want to take any cheap shots, nor ignore the tragedy that is unfolding, but I may just let others sort it out.

Two Evils? Or flippin flop?

[Pre-Emptive]* Comments on Business and Voting
In this case {Pre-Emptive} , meaning after barely a glance at the articles but reading their briefs in my daily TruthOut .

Two Reports Assail State Department Role on Iraq Security
By Eric Schmitt and David Rohde The New York Times

GOP Team Revives Electoral Vote Initiative
By Dan Morain and Joe Mathews
The Los Angeles Times

In the first matter of the first MBA prez I took a bit longer {of a glance at a} tangent.
And reached a familiar metaphor {embedded there} : Poker. And {we can} conclude that he does not like to play the hand he is dealt and he is the dealer.

In the second matter, Electoral College aside, it seems a matter of black and white. In this case whether Californians want their candidate to be president or to dilute their vote. It is admirable that some states have proportional representation but when it is applied to a larger state and not to all states, it seems to defy some reasoning, much as voting for a third candidate on a lesser of two evils {theory}.

It should be clear that the only thing that should be black and white is ones vote. And the way the vote should work is that the winner is the one that gets the most votes. If a third candidate gets some, it should not be hard to see that the greater of two evils results.

* normally I reserve brackets for edited changes at the bottom, in this case this will mean this will be veering from that policy, and upgrade this post other than than housekeeping with {brackets}s.

Senator Dodd is defending the constitution

Contact progressive patriots to support that effort.

The only caveat I have on immunity for corporations is an exception for complete cooperation in the investigations of what Senator Dodd calls "the most heinous Presidential crimes in American history."

"This is the policy, what happened?"'

"The Moment Has Come to Get Rid of Saddam": Bush's Faith Run Over by History By Mark Danner
TomDispatch.com

The only thing that worries me about you is your optimism.
- Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar to President Bush, from the Crawford Transcript of February 22, 2003

I was an optimist too.

And wrote about the nexus of faith.

Looking at causes and cures is a tricky business. If leaps can be taken, they should have been of faith in the process. If action before discussion is selected by the most civilized, how can we hope for different in those we chastise or fear and yet hope to civilize?

"WAR MADE SIMPLE" has an interesting nexus to power.

It is a link that I just found but had they it in mind?

Nobel economics winner says market forces flawed

"Societies should not rely on market forces to protect the environment or provide quality health care for all citizens, a winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize for economics said on Monday."

"The market doesn't work very well when it comes to public goods"

"A clean environment, for example,"

Reuters

Huffington Post

This may heat things up.

[Further comment/research:
PrestoPundit
Dismal Science
Correction?
StationaryBandit]

Fair and Balanced?

Bush says he is relevant

Bush said his veto pen was "one way to ensure that I am relevant; that's one way to ensure that I am in the process. And I intend to use the veto."
. . .
"I'm looking forward to getting some things done for the American people," Bush said. "And if it doesn't get done, I'm looking forward to reminding people as to why it's not getting done."

Taking care of our home front.

(See Labels: But READ Links)

Eastside Democratic Dinner

[The military course and just desserts.]

Navigating the sensibilities is what comes to mind as I belatedly note the excitement surrounding the speakers, Senator Patty Murray, and Retired Major General Paul Eaton. What follows are three perspectives Perspective one.
Perspective two.
Perspective three.

Auxiliary links:
The General in the Darcy Burner Camp.
At the NW Progressive Forum.

[LATEST: Darcy Burner Newsletter Report on the General and his plans for Iraq]

[10-17-07: I must note that I am excited that the author of Perspective 2 has found this site and commented below, and also that he now links a video of the heart of the excitement,as well as a Washblog link on the event. I hereby add two links I have yet to read:
12 former captains on Iraq
"out of control"??
Speaking of more than one perspective, I also added the subtitle.]