Air America Political Film Festival: Dangerous Beauty Tonight

One of the best pictures, I have seen , I loved it.

"Dangerous Beauty"

Dangerous Beauty Veronica's Confession

We will be watching this, together, at 6:20 pm Pacific/9:20 pm Eastern tonight on Night Two of our Air America Political Film Festival discussion of "Dangerous Beauty", with the Producer of the film, Marshall Herskovitz.

Click Here to buy Dangerous Beauty!
Join us every Friday night in May for our discussion of Dangerous Beauty with Producer Marshall Herskovitz and cast.
And, submit YOUR nominations for the your favorite political films. We will be featuring the top 12 political films of all time, as decided by you, one per month here on Hollywood CLOUT!!LinkHere

Where was the Revolution for the last 8 years, that the Bush Administration thumbed it's nose at and trashed, that same Constitution of We the People?

YouTube star summoned to White House?

Promises radio talk show first interview afterwards

2009 WorldNetDaily

MEDIA MATTERS

The man who created two phenomenally successful "We The People" YouTube videos urging Americans to stand up against Congress and reclaim their republic now – or perhaps lose it forever – reportedly has been summoned to the White House by President Obama to discuss the subject matter of the short films.
Bob Basso, who posts videos under the name funbobbasso on YouTube, has created videos in which he portrays Thomas Paine, author of the "Common Sense" pamphlet that made the case for independence during the American Revolution.
Basso, whose website offers his services as a motivational speaker, uses the YouTube presentations to condemn "non-representing representatives" and warns, "Only when they feel the almighty wrath of 'We The People' marching in the streets from California to New York shouting 'We're mad as hell and we want our country back' will they get the message they work for you." LinkHere

He's equally unhappy with Americans in the first video,

5/9/09: Your Weekly Address

Turley to Obama: ‘Do the right thing,’ prosecute torture

Constitutional attorney Jonathan Turley wants the Obama administration to “do the right thing” by appointing a special prosecutor to investigate the Bush administration’s torture program.
“I hope, at a minimum, President Obama will end this just endless performance of Hamlet on the Potomac, debating whether a special prosecutor will be appointed, whether these crimes will be investigated, and do the right thing,” he said on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show Thursday night. “Just appoint a special prosecutor and let the chips land where they may.”
Judge Jay Bybee, who co-authored memos that authorized the Bush administration’s torture program, is trying to reach out and lobby members of the Nevada delegation in hopes that he won’t be disbarred from his seat on the bench, Maddow said. LinkHere

19 Dems were briefed on torture, CIA claims

Update: CIA can't vouch for exactly what they told Dems
Alexandrovna: 'Unethical leading the blind' against Pelosi

MoveOn Targets Specter And Other Dems For Siding With Banks

A series of new web ads by MoveOn.org targets Senate Democrats for stripping a provision from recently-passed bankruptcy reform legislation that would have allowed judges in certain circumstances to change the terms of a mortgage.
The biggest target among those Dems: Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania turncoat. MoveOn says a new poll finds 85 percent of its Pennsylvania membership aren't charmed by Specter's party switch and might favor a primary challenger.
Six other Democrats are targeted in videos for their opposition to the provision, known as cramdown, which would have offered relief to certain homeowners in bankruptcy and in default on their mortgage. The measure failed after lobbying by the financial industry so intense that Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said of the upper chamber that banks "frankly own the place." LinkHere

White House Military Affairs Director Resigns Over NYC Flyover

Louis Caldera, Director of White House Military Affairs, resigned today from his position in the wake of the Air Force One flyover photo-op over lower Manhattan two weeks ago.

UNFRIKINGBELIEVABLE, The Goons are at it again. Pathetic

Egads. This whole Dijon mustard thing is turning into a far bigger and more ridiculous thing than I suspected when I warned yesterday that it might become a big and ridiculous thing. Take a look at this dweeb's website! This guy really does believe he's working the Pentagon Papers story, or something! And this is a Cornell law professor. Yeesh. Not since the Battle of Ypres have so many people choked on so much mustard gas!
Here's some more talking heads being mustard-

Dan Rather joined Jon Stewart in mocking the media's coverage of President Obama and Vice President Biden's trip to Ray's Hell Burger Tuesday by dressing up as a 1973 newsman and creating a fake report of a Nixon/Kissinger burrito run. LinkHere

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Nixon Has a Burrito
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

Stewart Points Out Marion Barry's Hypocrisy In Opposing Gay Marriage Over "Morals"

At a "Stand Up For Marriage" rally in Washington, D.C. recently, ex-Mayor and current Councilman Marion Barry said, "We have to say 'no' to same-sex marriage in D.C....I am a politician who is moral." The rally was in response to legislation that would allow the District to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.
Jon Stewart, ever the stickler for hypocrisy, pointed out that "morals" never seemed to be Barry's strong suit in that he smoked crack and cheated on his wife for years. He was eventually charged with three felony counts of perjury, 10 counts of misdemeanor drug possession, and one misdemeanor count of conspiracy after being caught in a sting operation, though 12 of those counts didn't stick. When Barry returned to politics after jail, he ran under the slogan, "He May Not Be Perfect, But He's Perfect for D.C." LinkHere

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Gaywatch - Marion Barry
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

Colbert Takes On Hannity's "Liberty Tree"

HANNITY'S LIBERTY TREE

I seriously don't believe that Hannity is provoking any lynchings, but it certainly can be implied. The other thing is this: suddenly the far-right is all about liberty? Ask Sean Hannity if he supports liberty for same-sex couples. No one cheerlead the unprecedented expansion of unitary executive power under Bush and Cheney more than Hannity. I seem to recall the Republicans, and especially the wingnut right, going around saying things like:
"Our civil liberties are worthless if we are dead! If you are dead and pushing up daisies, if you're sucking dirt inside a casket, do you know what your civil liberties are worth? Zilch, zero, nada."

LinkHere

Earlier this week, Sean Hannity introduced a new segment with this lead in:
At the end of that first protest in 1765 the Sons of Liberty hung two tax collectors in effigy from the branches of elm and from that day forward it became known as the Liberty Tree...Therefore, in the spirit of our founding fathers, with our liberties once again threatened, we introduce our own Liberty Tree. Now as you can see, our tree is built upon the roots of life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, and freedom. They support the trunk of the tree which is made of we the people. And the trunk supports the branches and the fruits of our liberty represented by the apples. It is those apples, the fruits of our liberty, that this administration is now picking clean.
We hope he's not implying he wants to hang members of the IRS from the tree in his mind, but one never knows with Mr. Hannity. LinkHere

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Sean Hannity's Liberty Tree
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Gay Marriage

BANKS BLOCKING WAY OUT OF FORECLOSURE CRISIS

Brett Ellis, a real estate agent in Fort Myers, Fla., was thrilled when he got an offer for a property in Bell Tower Park in May 2008.
"It was a gorgeous property on the corner lot," Ellis told the Huffington Post. The owner, who had lost his job, wanted to sell the apartment for a loss rather than go into foreclosure, a strategy known as a short sale.
The offer was for $350,000, and Ellis, who is a certified distressed property expert trained in executing such sales, knew it was as good an offer as he was going to get in this market. He immediately sent the paperwork into the bank.
He waited for four months. The bank finally told him it wouldn't take anything less than $400,000 -- a price Ellis was sure he could never get. In September, the buyer's agent called to say, "You know what, we gotta move on, we gotta buy something else."
Now the property is sitting vacant as it slides into foreclosure. Its former owner's credit is destroyed, and the house is losing value every day. "God knows what the condition is today," Ellis said, adding he'd be surprised if the property is worth more than $290,000 when it resurfaces on the market. Add in the legal expenses involved in a foreclosure, and the bank cost itself a hundred thousand dollars more that it otherwise would have. It's a scenario that plays out constantly, everywhere in the United States. In a time of collapsing real estate values, where one in five homes are now under water, a short sale is increasingly the only option before foreclosure. It is less damaging to credit scores and spares the homeowner the shame of foreclosure.
It is also a better option for banks: According to one analysis, short sales resulted in loan losses of only 19 percent, compared with an average loss of 40 percent on homes sold after foreclosure.
So why aren't these sales more widely used?
The broad answer is that the American financial system simply can't handle a collapse of this magnitude. The fates of the banking and real estate industries are intertwined. But they don't work together -- and the result is that they end up working against each other. LinkHere

How many Democrats are guests of Fox News at the Dinner? Right On!!! onehandle

Source: CNN
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will miss a chance to chat up President Obama this weekend because she's cancelling plans to attend the White House Correspondents' dinner, but she's got a good excuse.
Palin on Wednesday declared a state of emergency because of record flooding in Eagle, Alaska. "It's basically wiped out a town," Bill McAllister, Palin's communications director, told CNN.
Palin was slated to be a guest of Fox News at the annual dinner.
McAllister confirmed Palin will stay in Alaska this weekend and will no longer attend Saturday night’s annual press dinner headlined by Obama this year for the first time.

The former Republican presidential candidate has also pulled out of co-hosting a Friday night dinner for the Republican Governors Association with South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford. The dinner is a thank you to donors who have contributed at least $25,000 to the group. The dinner for 50 will be held at the Virginia home of Fred Malek, a major Republican fundraiser.
LinkHere

U.S. to Appoint Top General to Kabul in Afghan Revamp

Source: WSJ
By PETER SPIEGEL
WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is expected to bolster the U.S. military leadership in Afghanistan by appointing a three-star general to Kabul, according to senior defense officials. The move underscores growing concern in the military over the course of the conflict and marks the first time since the seven-year war began that the U.S. will have two senior commanders there.
The appointment of Lt. Gen. David M. Rodriguez, who holds the military's second-highest rank, hasn't been announced publicly, and his exact role in Kabul is still being discussed. He was chosen by Mr. Gates last year to be his personal military assistant after a widely praised tour as a division commander in eastern Afghanistan.
The decision by Mr. Gates to move Gen. Rodriguez back to Afghanistan is the latest in a series of moves by the Pentagon leadership to play a more hands-on role in the Afghanistan war, after a year of rising violence and increasingly vocal criticism of the campaign plan within the military and on Capitol Hill. An internal task-force agenda reviewed by The Wall Street Journal detailed the growing concern.
Last month, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, quietly assigned his top staff officer, Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, to head the task force with the aim of improving the effectiveness of the Afghan strategy. Such strategic planning is usually left to commanders in the region. Linkhere

One for the people? maybe.

Illinois may pull money from Wells Fargo if Obama suitmaker is shut down

Source: Chicago Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune
CHICAGO, May 07, 2009 (Chicago Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune News Service via COMTEX) -- WFC Quote Chart News PowerRating -- The fight to keep the Hartmax Corp. suit factory in Des Plaines, Ill., alive stepped up Thursday when the state treasurer threatened to pull Illinois' business from Wells Fargo & Co. if the bank backs a bid that could lead to liquidating the company.
"Unless the company remains open, they will not be doing business with the state of Illinois any longer," Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias told a crowd of workers outside the factory, who gathered on their lunch break.
The Chicago-based manufacturer, which makes suits for President Barack Obama, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Jan. 23 and is in talks to be sold soon. The Des Plaines factory, opened in 1982, employs 600 workers making men's suit coats. The company employs roughly 3,000 union workers in the U.S.
Backdropped by signs saying "Wells Fargo gets bailed out, workers get sold out," union leaders said they worry that a new owner would close the factory and liquidate the company or send production overseas. They say the bank has an obligation to protect jobs in light of the $25 billion it received in federal TARP bailout money.
"Wells Fargo has to understand that if they take a short-term approach they're creating the same problem that got us into this mess," said Tom Balanoff, president Service Employees International Union state council. LinkHere

Pfc. Steven Green guilty on all counts (Rapist/murderer of 14 yr old Iraqi Abeer)

RIP Abeer, Hadeel, Fahkriya, Qassim

Edited on Thu May-07-09 06:13 PM by uppityperson
Source: Courier-Journal
After deliberating over the course of two days, a federal court jury today convicted former Army Pvt. Steven Green of capital murder for killing an Iraqi family in their home 20 miles south Baghdad in March 2006. The jury, which also convicted Green, 24, of aggravated sexual abuse, obstruction of justice and using a firearm during a crime of violence, will return on Monday to begin hearing evidence on whether Green should be executed for the crimes.
Green stared straight ahead as guilty verdicts were announced on all 16 charges, including 12 on which he could be sentenced to death. An office administrator in the federal public defender’s office patted Green on the shoulder, trying to console him, then she broke down into tears. Prosecutors and defense attorneys said they could not comment on the verdict because the case is still pending. Green’s brother, Doug Green, watched from the back of the courtroom as the verdicts were announced but said he was too shaken by them to comment.
Green was the first former soldier to face the death penalty in a civilian tr ial, according to legal authorities. He was tried in federal court because he had been discharged from the Army before his role was discovered in what has been called one of the worst atrocities committed by U.S. soldiers in Iraq. He was tried in Paducah because it was the closest court to Fort Campbell, from which Green’s Airborne Division unit was deployed.
Green was charged with 12 capital o ffenses – four counts of premeditated murder, four counts of felony murder – for killing the family members during the rape – and four counts of using a firearm in a crime resulting in death. Green was convicted of raping 14-year-old Abeer Al-Janabi and of killing her and her sister Hadeel, 6, and her parents, Fakhyrira and Kassem...

LinkHere

New York Fed chairman Friedman abruptly resigns

Stephen Friedman, chairman of the board at the Federal Reserve bank of New York, abruptly resigned Thursday, days after The Wall Street Journal pointed out his approval of a request by Goldman Sachs was in violation of policy because of his considerable holdings in Goldman shares.
“Mr. Friedman was chairman of the New York Fed at the same time he was a member of Goldman’s board. He also had a substantial stake in the firm as the Fed was crafting a solution to keep Wall Street banks afloat,”reported The New York Times.
“Because the New York Fed approved a request by Goldman to become a bank holding company, the chairman’s involvement in Goldman was a violation of Fed policy, The Wall Street Journal said in an article earlier this week,” the Times noted.
“While [the Fed] was weighing [Goldman's] request, Mr. Friedman bought 37,300 more Goldman shares in December. They’ve since risen $1.7 million in value,” reported The Wall Street Journal on May 4.
“Mr. Friedman also was overseeing the search for a new president of the New York Fed, an officer who has a critical role in setting monetary policy at the Federal Reserve. The choice was a former Goldman executive.”
“In a letter to Fed officials, Friedman said, ‘Today, although I have been in compliance with the rules, my public service motivated continuation on the Reserve Bank Board is being mischaracterized as improper. The Federal Reserve System has important work to do and does not need this distraction,’” reported USA Today.
Read a copy of Friedman’s resignation letter, below.

Intelligence Report: Pelosi Briefed on Use of Interrogation Tactics in Sept. ’02

ABC News’ Rick Klein reports: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was briefed on the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” on terrorist suspect Abu Zubaydah in September 2002, according to a report prepared by the Director of National Intelligence’s office and obtained by ABC News.
The report, submitted to the Senate Intelligence Committee and other Capitol Hill officials Wednesday, appears to contradict Pelosi’s statement last month that she was never told about the use of waterboarding or other special interrogation tactics. Instead, she has said, she was told only that the Bush administration had legal opinions that would have supported the use of such techniques.
The report details a Sept. 4, 2002 meeting between intelligence officials and Pelosi, then-House intelligence committee chairman Porter Goss, and two aides. At the time, Pelosi was the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee.
The meeting is described as a “Briefing on EITs including use of EITs on Abu Zubaydah, background on authorities, and a description of particular EITs that had been employed.”

LinkHere

CIA Docs Unclear On Whether Pelosi Knew About Waterboarding

Conservative Groups Rally To Derail Obama's High Court Pick

Washington Post:
When John G. Roberts Jr. was nominated to the Supreme Court as chief justice, a pro-Republican group called Progress for America had $18 million in the bank.
Run by a lobbying firm with close ties to the Bush White House, the well-organized group had snatched up Internet domain names for dozens of potential court candidates, allowing it to launch a targeted Web site within minutes of the announcement. It went on to play a central role in winning confirmations for Roberts in 2005 and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. in early 2006.

LinkHere

Arianna And Eliot Spitzer On How The Financial Crisis Could Have Been Avoided

Arianna joined CNBC's Squawk Box crew and former New York governor Eliot Spitzer Thursday morning to discuss stress tests results, which banks need more capital, and how the financial crisis could have been avoided.
Scroll down for highlights from Arianna's appearance.
Arianna and CNBC's Steve Liesman discuss LinkHere
Zakaria/Spitzer;
Dan Rather/Elizabeth Warren;


Here is Warren:

And here is Spitzer:

First Gay Arabic Linguist To Be Fired Under Obama

Lt. Dan Choi, the gay Arabic-speaking linguist dismissed from the Army National Guard under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy after coming out earlier in the spring, spoke to MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on Thursday night.
Choi said he intends to fight his discharge "tooth and nail."
Maddow also talked to Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.), who called for the Obama administration to address the issue of "don't ask, don't tell." LinkHere

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Obama Promises To Repeal "Don't Ask Don't Tell" In Handwritten Note

Sadly something like as hideous as this, puts dishonours on all the troops fighting

Photographs by Nubar Alexanian
Text by Katharine Thomas
One of President Obama's first executive decisions in office was to prohibit the use of interrogation techniques previously sanctioned by the Justice Department under the Bush administration. LinkHere

End of an era: Blackwater's Iraq contract ends today

All you peace activists, listen up.
Today is special. You'll want to remember this day -- May 7, 2009 -- as the day when the second largest occupying force, the private army formerly known as Blackwater, finally left Iraq.

Triple Canopy, a Herndon, Virginia-based company, picks up the expiring contract of the security firm formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide, which changed its name to XE a few months ago. The U.S. State Department decided not to renew XE's contract in January.
"When the U.S. government initially asked for our help to assist with an immediate need to protect Americans in Iraq, we answered that call and performed well," XE spokeswoman Anne Tyrell said in a statement Wednesday. "But we always knew that, at some point, that work would come to a close."
The end of the contract followed the Iraqi government's refusal to renew the firm's operating license because of a September 2007 shooting in which Baghdad says security guards -- then employed by Blackwater -- killed 17 Iraqi civilians. LinkHere

Pakistan declareswar on Taliban
Government calls upon citizens to unite behind country's armed forces.

Anchor Tells Gay Activist Blogger: I'd Like To "Give You A Punch Across The Face"

Michael Rogers of BlogActive.com and editor of PageOneQ.com was on Let's Talk Live on News Channel 8, an ABC affiliate in the greater D.C. area when anchor Doug Mckelway told him he would like to "give you a punch across the face." Rogers is now calling on Mckelway to issue an on air, as well as a written, apology.

"Well, if Mrs. Obama wants to exercise, Elmo wants to exercise too! Yay exercise!!"

Michelle Obama's Sesame Street PSA: "You're Your Child's Best Role Model" (VIDEO)
The First Lady explains:
"If you want your child to have healthy habits, practice healthy habits, too. Because you're your child's best role model."

Not A Minute Too Soon.!!!!!!

Palin's Popularity Plunging In Polls

Time: Joe The Plumber Quitting The GOP

The Goons At Work Again!!!!

Vote for the bill or vote against it. Support it or denounce it. Make your case with due respect for what this sort of thing involves. Just don't play politics with it.

Republican Political Hackery and the Hate Crimes Bill

Bob Cesca
During the same historic week in whichmarriage equality was passed in Maine, the Republicans -- the self-proclaimed party of emancipation and "the liberty tree" -- attempted to derail hate crimes legislation with some political trickery that succeeded in allowing Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh to accuse the Democrats of protecting pedophiles. Stay with me on this.
Rep. Steve King (R-Batshittia) introduced an amendment to the hate crimes bill calling for the term "sexual orientation" to exclude "pedophiles" even though the bill specifically defines sexual orientation as "consensualhomosexuality or heterosexuality." Pedophelia, as everyone knows, is nonconsensual no matter who engages in it.
Not only was King insinuating the derogatory stereotype that homosexuals are pedophiles, but his amendment would've further validated this stereotype by writing it into the legal record. By the way, Joe the Plumber -- another very serious leader of the Republican Party --advanced the same stereotype this week when he said that he'd never let his "gay friends" anywhere near his kids. Classy. Nevertheless, King making this kind of distinction is sort of like amending civil rights legislation with: "the term 'African Americans' shall not include anyone who rapes white women." It elevates a stereotype while denying one exists. Pretty slick -- in a creepy, sinister kind of way.
Obviously, the point of King's amendment was neither to help to separate the LGBT community from nonconsensual sexual deviants, nor was it designed to make sure pedophiles weren't covered under the hate crimes law. King's intention was absolutely to trick Democrats into voting against the amendment -- and they did -- thus allowing the Republicans to say that Democrats are with the pedophiles.
So the Republicans are seeking a way out of their current mess by defining the Democrats as the party of pedophilia, even though the GOP's previous attempts to paint the Democrats as the pro-terrorist, anti-American party failed miserably to prevent landslide Democratic victories in the last two general elections.
But of course King's stupid amendment trick allowed Sean Hannity to repeat throughout his Tuesday night show things like, "Is it safe to say that Democrats were willing to protect pedophiles?" Limbaugh, meanwhile, remarked that the Democrats are "carving out protection for perverts." This from a guy who successfully wiggled out of a legal situation involving the possession of prescription E.D. meds (not in his name) during a stag trip to a destination apparently known for sexual tourism.
Here's the thing, though. Hannity, Limbaugh, King and 166 House Republicans are decidedlyagainst the hate crimes bill. The legislation, as passed by the House, specifically defines hate crimes as being "motivated by prejudice based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of the victim." Again, Hannity, King and the rest are absolutely opposed to this.
So while the Republicans have vocally and repeatedly expressed their position against "protecting pedophiles," it can be said -- and, quoting King, "it's a matter of record" -- that they're also against protecting women, racial minorities, ethnic minorities, religious people and disabled people, among others.
Get it?

Pass Or Fail,

Pass or fail, U.S. banks bow again to Washington

A couple of weeks ago, not long before disgruntled shareholders stripped him of his chairman’s title, Bank of America chief executive officer Ken Lewis insisted he was done drinking from the government trough. But U.S. President Barack Obama and his team of number crunchers at the Treasury Department apparently beg to differ.

Cantor Tries, Fails To Offer GOP Health Care Plan On Morning Joe

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Many Media Monitors recommended this clip from this Morning's edition of Morning Joe. Eric Cantor, asked by Carlos Watson if it might be a good idea for the GOP to partner with the White House on a "big initiative," like health care. Cantor allowed that while it's important for everyone to recognize that any individual without access to health care is facing "a crisis," he "drew the line" at any sort of government "takeover" of the health care system. So, what did he favor? Mike Barnicle attempted to suss this out with a very well formulated question LinkHere

The party leaders all personify the geographic and ideological base -- namely, southern white conservatives.

Dem Pollster Defines GOP Brand: "Utterly Uncaring" In "Time Of Crisis"

Longtime Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg is not normally in the business of advising Republicans. So when he willingly offers a diagnosis of the GOP's ills and a blueprint for its recovery, the material is worth noting.
In an interview with the Huffington Post, the onetime Clinton pollster and head of Democracy Corps pinpointed four points of vulnerability in the Republican brand.
The party leaders all personify the geographic and ideological base -- namely, southern white conservatives, he said. The emphasis on cultural issues is ill-fitting in the current climate. The strict opposition to the president's economic plans was almost transparent in its motivation. And the criticism of the stimulus was "defining their party as utterly uncaring during this time of crisis."
Taken as whole, Greenberg notes, the proof of GOP malaise is in the pudding. While most recent polling places Republican identification at a paltry 21 percent, his data suggests that there has been no corresponding drop in Democratic affiliation. We are seeing "a rise of Democrats, with the pool of Independents mostly coming out of the Republicans."

The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. Coincidence?

The heart of conservative economics is the idea that rich people’s wealth eventually benefits everybody. But there's an opposing idea called the Winner Take All theory which says in this competitive society people have an intense drive to win. And the prize for rising to the top is that you grab it all - or a huge percentage - then the losers divide up the little that's left. LinkHere

Report: US tortured at least 8 detainees to death

US interrogators may have killed dozens, human rights researcher and rights group say

United States interrogators killed nearly four dozen detainees during or after their interrogations, according areport published by a human rights researcher based on a Human Rights First report and followup investigations.
In all, 98 detainees have died while in US hands. Thirty-four homicides have been identified, with at least eight detainees — and as many as 12 — having been tortured to death, according to a 2006 Human Rights First report that underwrites the researcher’s posting. The causes of 48 more deaths remain uncertain.
The researcher, John Sifton, worked for five years for Human Rights Watch. In a posting Tuesday, he documents myriad cases of detainees who died at the hands of their US interrogators. Some of the instances he cites are graphic. LinkHere

Senate to hear testimony on Bush detainee interrogations

Pentagon admits planted stories probe 'whitewash'

Rush Limbaugh Speech At Heritage Foundation President's Club Meeting

While Limbaugh jets around the country in his $54 million Gulfstream G550, laughing off the recession, does he even realize that his own bloated contract is contributing to the rising unemployment rate?

Limbaugh is no stranger to belittling the poor and dismissing the economic troubles of others. In March, Limbaugh scoffed at a question on homeless children, asking, “Would somebody tell me the last time you saw a kid sleeping under a bridge?”
As Media Matters reported, even Limbaugh’s employer Clear Channel is struggling under the weight of the recession. Already this year, Clear Channel has “shed nearly 3,000 employees, or 12 percent of its workforce.” LinkHere

Poll: Republicans, Southerners most unpatriotic

Margaret Carlson: Rove ‘really rattled’ by Obama

Former White House adviser Karl Rove admitted during a debate about “the partisan divide” in Washington on Monday that the atmosphere is “poisonous,” but he refused to take any personal responsibility for the situation.
“The atmosphere in Washington D.C. is too poisonous and has been for the last 16 years,” Rove stated. However, when asked about his own role in creating this divisiveness, he responded, “I’m a myth.”
Rove also insisted that President Bush had reached out to Congressional Democrats early in his presidency, contrasting this with President Obama’s pushing through his stimulus program and budget without support from most Republicans.
Columnist Margaret Carlson commented to MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann, “That exchange was so fierce, I found it very surprising. I think Karl Rove must be really rattled by President Obama, because Republicans have not mounted an opposition.” LinkHere

Blackwater guards allegedly tried to get rid of evidence in deadly Iraq shooting

US government informants allege that military contractors tried to cover up their role in a deadly shooting in Iraq by disposing of the weapons involved, according to a report.
“Shortly after a 2007 shooting incident in a Baghdad traffic square … Blackwater contractors allegedly transferred a number of machine guns to another contractor who is now charged with trying to smuggle them out of Iraq,” writes Bill Sizemore of The Virginian-Pilot.
The contractors tried unloading the guns “before an investigation of the bloody incident began,” according to two confidential government informants in a sworn statement.
A half-dozen contractors face multiple charges over the shooting, which left 17 Iraqi civilians dead, including children.
The Baghdad shooting in September 2007 infuriated Iraqi citizens and reversed the fortunes of Blackwater, which has since changed its name to Xe.
The company’s founder, Erik Prince, stepped down shortly after the name change.
The notorious contractor has been investigated several times by the US government over various allegations, particularly involving arms.
Blackwater has also been accused of numerous misdeeds in Iraq by Iraqi officials,congressional reports and independent investigators. LinkHere

Over 1 million records on government’s combined watch list

400,000 still on terror watch list, including author of book on Rove

The US government’s consolidated terrorist watch list has exceeded an estimated 400,000 “unique” records of “known or suspected terrorist identities,” according to a Justice Departmentreport released today.
The controversial list, according to the report issued by the Office of the Inspector General Audit Division, is a combined database of various federal law enforcement agencies, administered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) via its Terrorist Screening Center (TSC).
As of 31 December 31 2008, 1.1 million records exist on the government’s combined watch list, according to the Inspector General’s report. That number, however, includes duplicate files and aliases and does not reflect the actual number of people on the terrorist watch list.
The TSC estimated, as of 9 September 2008, that the total number of “unique” individuals on the watch list was approximately 400,000.
The report is the result of an investigation by the Audit Division and discusses findings related to three objectives:

» Justice Dept. drops case against war resistor Watada

MAN OF PEACE: Justice drops criminal charges against Ehren Watada, the Iraq war's first high-profile resistor.

The Department of Justice has dropped its case against 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, a war resistor who refused Iraq deployment in June 2006 and denounced President George W. Bush’s decision to invade as illegal and immoral.
In Feb. 2007, military judge Lieutenant Colonel John Head halted Watada’s case following possible inconsistencies concerning a “stipulation of fact” agreed before the hearing. The decision led to a mistrial, ending Watada’s court marshal. The Army appealed, but a judge said Watada could not be tried again on the same charges, as it would violate his right to be free of double jeopardy.
The Justice Department is dropping its appeal of that judge’s decision.
“Because there are no longer any criminal charges pending against Lt. Watada, and because (his) military service has been extended far beyond his normal release date, he anticipates that he will soon be released from active duty,” Watada’s attorney, James Lobsenz, said in a media advisory published Wednesday. “He plans to return to civilian life and to attend law school.”
“Settle set aside two specifications of the same charge — conduct unbecoming an officer — which stemmed from public statements Watada made against the war and President Bush,” reported Vanessah Ho for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
LinkHere

Spanish judge sends Guantanamo inquiry

A Spanish judge will ask the United States if it plans to probe alleged torture at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp before deciding whether to open his own inquiry. Judge Eloy Velasco from Spain's top criminal court will make the request formally in a letter to officials in the United States, according to a copy of the document obtained on Tuesday. LinkHere

About time someone with some intelligence and integrity took on this "IMBECILE."

MN Doctor Says She'll Challenge Michele Bachmann In 2010

Dr. Maureen Reed, a Stillwater area physician and the Independence Party's 2006 nominee for lieutenant governor, today announced she would seek the endorsements of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor and Independence parties for the 6th Congressional District seat held by Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann.
Reed said in a press release that she would file papers with the Federal Election Commission so she can start raising money for her campaign.

Bachmann Speaks At Anti-Tax Rally (1 and 2)

Minnesota you proud of her ignorance

This is why WPITW was invented: Michele Bachmann, 29 April, 2009

Michele Bachmann Is Proud Of Her Ignorance

Democrats Accused Of Using Hate Crime Bill To Protect Pedophiles

Hannity "House Dems vote to protect pedophiles, but not veterans":SUMMARY: Sean Hannity, Bill Hemmer, and The Fox Nation advanced the false claim that House Democrats voted to "protect" or "defend" pedophiles by voting against an amendment to the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

Discussing the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which defines as a crime acts of violence or attempted violence "motivated by prejudice based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of the victim," Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Bill Hemmer, and The Fox Nation, have all recently advanced the false claim that House Democrats voted to "protect" or "defend" pedophiles by voting against an amendment to the bill by Rep. Steve King (R-IA) stating that "the term 'sexual orientation' shall not include pedophilia." In fact, as Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) noted during an April 23 House Judiciary Committee hearing, the term "sexual orientation" is already defined by federal statute as applying only to "consensual homosexuality or heterosexuality," thereby excluding pedophiles, who engage in nonconsensual sexual relationships with children. In providing her reasons for opposing King's amendment, Baldwin said that it "is unnecessary and, I would add, inflammatory in terms of insinuations." LinkHere

You Lose Hannity, Take Notice You, and the GOP are "IRRELEVANT"

Christian Conservative Family Research Council Slams New GOP Initiative: "Devoid Of Values ... Running Scared"

Virginia Foxx Sends Apology Letter To Matthew Shephard's Mother

Cheney: I'm Speaking Out On Obama To Defend The "Little Guys"

Torture Memo Author Advocated Presidential Pardons, Jury

Nullification

Twenty Percent Of Americans Support Torturing Terrorist Suspects: Poll

WATCH: GOP Releases "Guantanamo Bay Terrorists: Coming To A Neighborhood Near You?"

GOP Pollster: Our National Security Attacks On Obama Make Us Look "Irrelevant"