0959

Funeral held for mother, baby killed in US mystery
By Jason Szep
PLYMOUTH, Massachusetts (Reuters) - Mourners packed a 19th-century Catholic Church on Wednesday for the funeral of a 27-year-old woman and her infant daughter whose double murder mystery has captured attention on both sides of the Atlantic.
Missing from the estimated 500 people crammed into St. Peter Parish in Plymouth, Massachusetts, was a person who may be able to shed some light on the crime: Neil Entwistle, the victims' husband and father who flew to his native England around the estimated time of the murders.
Rachel Souza Entwistle was found dead on January 22 in her bedroom alongside her nine-month-old baby Lillian Rose in their home in Hopkinton, about 30 miles west of Boston. Both had been shot with a small-caliber gun which has not been found. They were discovered by police under layers of blankets.

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-02-01T221125Z_01_N01312707_RTRUKOC_0_US-CRIME-ENTWISTLE.xml

I have heard this all before.

Yikes is an Aaron Brown word. Haven't got your own vernacular yet Anderson? None that works for you at least. Try these, 'The New Normal.' It might work for you, too. I'll tell you the same thing I told Aaron EVERYTIME he said it. "There is no such thing as 'the new normal.' It's like waving the white flag to bin Laden.

1012

Commercials

Here is a commercial for you.


Alaskan ice floe crashes into oil-laden tanker
By Andrew Gumbel
Published: 03 February 2006
A tanker carrying almost five million gallons of oil and petrol broke free of its moorings while loading at an Alaskan refinery yesterday and began leaking into the Cook Inlet approach to Anchorage.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article342943.ece

1015

More about the same subject.

I don't recall CNN covering this Mother-Baby murder that closely. Granted the father didn't fly to London, but, so what?

Mother-Baby Murder Trial Begins

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=46981

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Prosecutors detailed how child support is a likely motive in the murder of a mother and her infant son.John Mosley Jr., is charged in the deaths of 40-year-old Lynda Wilkes and her 10-month-old son, Jay-Quan Mosley. If convicted, Mosley faces the death penalty.Mosley was arrested in May 2004, a month after the woman and the infant disappeared.Wilkes was last seen when she met Mosley to talk about child support payments.Bernard Griffin took the stand. He testified that he saw Mosley choke Wilkes. He also testified he saw Mosley put Jay-quan into a gaarbage bag. Griffin, who is charged as an accomplice to murder, told the jury, “He (Mosley)tied the bag up, put the baby in the back of his SUV. Could you hear baby still crying (prosecutor)? Yes."

The Lacy Peterson Murders, etc. are featured.

Hm?

Oh, there you go, OJ makes it right.

1022

commercials

Another commercial

From the people that brought you Gitmo...

"Chances are, though, the camps may be populated not just with illegal immigrants but with Moslems and others whose religious beliefs are "incompatible with a democratic society."

The people that brought you Gitmo are at it again, and this time their camps could be located right in the mainland U.S. These camps could be activated in the event of an "emergency", such as a threat to U.S. "national security" resulting from an attack on Iran and/or the expulsion of the Palestinians from East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Chances are, though, the camps may be populated not just with illegal immigrants but with Moslems and others whose religious beliefs are "incompatible with a democratic society".

... At about the same time Savage began his latest diatribe, word came that a conditional $385-million contract has been issued to the Kellogg Brown Root (KBR) subsidiary of Halliburton to construct temporary detention and processing camps--concentration camps--for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE could use such camps as part of its so-called "removal program". Halliburton was apparently selected, in part, due to its previous and highly successful installation at the Gitmo facility in Cuba.

The U.S. is currently swamped with nearly 20-million illegal immigrants, mostly from Mexico. These are creating an intolerable social-welfare burden on many local governments and depressing overall U.S. wages. However, President Bush, in his recent State of the Union message, proposed legalizing such individuals through a "guest worker" proposal. So it's unlikely ICE would be targeting any such documented aliens in a future program of removal.
Other Neoconservative talk-show hosts have decried the presence of "Arabs" in South and Central America, citing countries such as Paraguay as particularly egregious examples.

The latest in immigrant policy. I doubt this is about immigrants exclusively. Can Americans be among those relocated?

1026

More about the Massachusetts murder.

1030

The news secretary

1032

commercials

This is the type of rhetoric that surfaces whenever Bush says "... we are addicted to foreign oil." who is the defeatist now?

Energy Watch

Offshore U.S. Gas Potential
The Interior Department estimates the United States has enormous gas resources off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, Alaska and eastern Gulf of Mexico -- three times the natural gas supplies of Canada and Mexico.

1036

Ah, oh. Sexual secrets of the NFL. So what. Are they good stories? Who paid who? Is the commissioner going to suspend him? What about his sex partners, will they be suspended, too? It was never the sex that was the real issue. It was the drug addition.

Back in the day, the 'openness' of homosexuality wasn't a venue.

Roy Simmons. "Out of Bonds" - click on link.

1042

commercials

Carlyle is going into media? Why not. It's so nice to be in control of the propaganda.

Carlyle Group considers investing in SEE
10:38 - 02 February 2006 - According to sources close to investment matters the Carlyle Group is serioulsy considering to invest in SEE, preferably in Media. Same sources say that approaches have been already made in most of the area countries. The Carlyle Group is a private investment bank which doesn't come to the publics attention very often but it is one of the biggest American (ed: USA) investors of the defense industry, telecom, property and financial services.
On their payroll are people like : George Bush (Sr.), James Baker III and old premier John Major.
The offices of the Carlyle Group are on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC, midway between the White House and the Capitol building.
The address reflects Carlyle's position at the very centre of the Washington establishment, analysts say
One of the Groups ex chairmen was Frank Carlucci - Ronald Reagan's defence secretary and a former deputy director of the CIA.
When Carlucci arrived there in 1989, he brought with him a phalanx of former subordinates from the CIA and the Pentagon, and an awareness of the scale of business a company like Carlyle could do.

1045

Here it comes. Your microscopic bedroom ecosystem.

PETS.

This is a serious issue for people with allergies. It can be helpful.

1052

commercials

The Carlyle Group - kindly click on.

add to that

The Carlyle Group and Novak Biddle Venture Partners Launch Command Information, a New Company Addressing Fortune 1000 and Government Customers' Migration to the Next Generation of The Internet

Now everyone keep up with the competition, okay? And then wonder why there is Howard. There is a lot of reason why there is Howard (click on).

1053

The news secretary.

1055

commercials

1100

Image issues. 'Gay Neo Nazi?' Sounds like sincere rejection of his own identity. That is what happens in a society misguided in 'hatred' of difference. It's "W"rong.

The Gay Bar Attack (kinsly click on)

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. Feb 2, 2006 — A young man dressed all in black went on a rampage at a gay bar with a hatchet and a gun Thursday, wounding three patrons in what police said appeared to be a hate crime.
One victim was in critical condition with head wounds. Police searched for 18-year-old Jacob D. Robida, who was wanted on charges of attempted murder, assault and civil-rights violations.
According to court papers, Robida's mother told police that he briefly stopped by the house less than an hour after the brawl and was bleeding from the head. In Robida's bedroom, officers found Nazi regalia and anti-Semitic writings on the wall.

1106

David Woodruff, Bob's brother. Optimistic. It should not have happened. There isn't anything to say. The USA government is underfunding the equipment the Iraqis are issued and Bob and his cameraman walked right into without realizing what they were facing. I wish him a complete and speedy recovery.

Five U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq
printResizeButton();

Five U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq on Wednesday in separate attacks, U.S. military said on Thursday.
One soldier was killed after he received gunshots when his unit came under attack by small arms fire southwest of Baghdad, the U.S. military said in a statement.
Another U.S. marine was announced dead after he was fatally wounded on Wednesday in combat near the western city of Fallujah, the military said in a separate statement.
Earlier, a third statement said three U.S. soldiers, assigned to the Multi-National Division-Baghdad, were killed on Wednesday when a roadside bomb hit their patrol south of Baghdad.
The latest deaths brought the death toll of U.S. military personnel in Iraq to more than 2,245 since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.

1110

I don't really approve of the military promotion

The Human Cost of Occupation

*Other Coalition Countries

1113

commercials

Amstar Group Ltd. Acquires Hilton Pasadena for $65M
Carlyle Group Sells 296-room Hotel in Pasadena, CA to Investor

Carlyle is a joke. It can't possibly be a tangible company so much as a chronic ghost organization. Headquarters or not. They have to be intertwined with the intelligent agencies for the global scope and the chronic turn over of captial to maintain a large cash flow. It's more than just a 'futures' investor. Has to be. This companies holdings is far too dynamic to be a legitmate company so much as one that is chronically 'on the run.' Just simply intuition. No 'real' company has these type of dynamics. Too odd.

1115

The news secretary

1117

commercials

About darn time to indict the spouses.

Prosecutor Seeks DeLay-Abramoff Trip Info
By SUZANNE GAMBOAThe Associated PressWednesday, February 1, 2006; 7:22 PM
WASHINGTON -- A European trip former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay took six years ago with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff is the new focus of a money laundering investigation in Texas, court documents filed Wednesday in Austin, Texas, show.
Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle wants DeLay's wife and several associates who joined him on the trip to turn over travel itineraries, expense reimbursement requests and other documents.

1122

Waveland, Mississippi

Waveland is ground zero. It is where the 'eye wall' fell on land. There is a trend here Anderson. One that 'anger' will never shake loose. Bush does not want to rebuild the Gulf Coast. He wants oil/gas access without burden of regulation or human impact. I know there are thousands of people buried in the mud of the Lower Ninth Ward and others areas Bush wants to bulldoze. I know they are there. Looking in houses just isn't enough. We need our Gulf Coast Back.

Strongest tornado in 24 years

3 tornadoes rip swath from airport to Lakeview

By Bob Ross

East Jefferson bureau A trio of tornadoes spawned from severe thunderstorms damaged one of the four concourses at Armstrong International Airport and tore apart dozens of homes and businesses from Kenner to Lakeview, knocking out power to more than 30,000 customers and dealing even more misery to some of Katrina’s hardest-hit victims. Despite severe damage to some structures in Lakeview, Kenner and the old Jefferson area, only a few minor injuries were reported in the violent weather that struck in the pre-dawn hours Thursday, authorities said. “Going out and seeing some of the damage — trailers turned over, power lines and transformers down — you would think someone could have gotten hurt pretty bad,” said Kenner Councilman Marc Johnson. “We are truly blessed.” All three tornadoes were at least 150 yards wide with winds in excess of 72 mph. The strongest one reached wind speeds exceeding 113 mph and cut a 2.5-mile swath from the eastern edge of Metairie through Lakeview to the lakefront. The first tornado began at River Road, southeast of the airport near the St. Charles Parish line, at about 2:34 a.m. It traveled northeast across the airfield to Williams Boulevard at 22nd Avenue, according to meterologist Mike Koziara. Its path was approximately 2 miles long. Koziara, a science and operations officer for the National Weather Service, was part of a survey team that visited the affected areas Thursday. They observed roofs peeled from warehouses, damaged frame homes and mobile homes in Kenner, as well as several trucks overturned and plate glass blown out. One minor injury was reported from flying debris. A second tornado reportedly touched down near Ochsner Clinic Foundation on Jefferson Highway at 2:39 a.m., according to the weather service. It traveled northeast about three-quarters of a mile from River Road at Iris Avenue, damaging several buildings and downing power lines. The weather service classified the first two tornadoes F-1 on the Fujita scale, used to measure the twisters’ strength, meaning their speed was between 73 mph and 113 mph. The third tornado was classified as F-2, meaning its speed was between 113 mph and 158 mph. “It was pretty substantial,” Koziara said. That one originated at 2:43 a.m. near Veterans Memorial Boulevard and Fleur de Lis Drive, where it blew down a radio tower at the State Police Troop B building. It traveled northeast about 2.5 miles to the lakefront, according to Koziara, causing substantial damage in the area of Canal Boulevard and Fillmore Avenue, Mouton, Walker and Conrad streets. The visit by the F-2 twister, accompanied by heavy rain and frequent, intense lightning, was a rarity, officials said. New Orleans was last struck by an F-2 tornado 24 years ago, according to meterologist Robert Ricks. He said an F-2 twister struck the Bywater area at 1:45 p.m. on June 22, 1981. It was 2 miles long, 20 yards wide and caused about $25,000 worth of damage. Before that, the last F-2 storm to hit the city struck March 10, 1971, and caused $2.5 million worth of damage. The city has had 13 tornado strikes since 1951, Ricks said. The last one was June 30, 2003, in the Lake Catherine area, but it was an F-0 and caused little damage. The weather knocked our power to thousands of customers throughout the area. As of 6:30 p.m. Thursday, officials said 800 Entergy customers remained without power - about 700 in East Jefferson and 100 in Orleans. The fallout from the storms affected hundreds of travelers who stood in long lines or slumped against luggage in the stuffy, darkened Armstrong International terminal Thursday, after the violent overnight storms knocked out power for more than eight hours and grounded flights The loss of both electrical feeds occurred about 3 a.m. shortly after a funnel cloud was spotted northwest of the airport. The winds peeled away the protective covering on a section of roof previously damaged during Hurricane Katrina, blew out some windows, seriously damaged several jet ways and toppled a few more of the high mast lights that Katrina didn’t blow down – all on Concourse C, airport spokeswoman Michelle Dufourc said. The storm came as a horrible blow to residents of Lakeview and Lakeshore, a virtual ghostown since homes were flooded after Katrina. “If we had been living here we would be gone,” said Mari Rodriguez, staring at the half-gone roof on her 4,000 square-foot home at 741 Robert E. Lee Boulevard. “I was here yesterday,” her husband Dr. Ed Rodriguez said. “I had just finished gutting the house and treating the studs.” The Rodriguezes have been renting in Mandeville since Katrina. They said they were looking forward to returning to the Lakeshore area. “We’ve lived here 33 years and raised all five of our kids here,” Dr. Rodriguez said. “This is our neighborhood. I just cant believe this is happening. Our hope was to rebuild our house. Now, all we’ll have is an empty lot.” Talking over the sound of heavy equipment as it picked up debris along the avenue and from sidewalks, Dr. Rodriguez said he hopes to hear from his insurance company about tearing down his blond brick house. “Its got to go quick or it will be a hazard to the neighborhood,” he said. The wind caused major damage to homes for a few blocks along Canal Boulevard near Robert E. Lee Boulevard, uprooted fences, peeled off one home’s roof next to Harrison Avenue and scattered tree branches around Lakeview. At the corner of Porteous and Louix XIV streets, the high wind caused significant damage to a FEMA trailer, still unoccupied because electric power had not yet been connected. In many areas, it was tough to distinguish between Katrina and new damage. The high winds felled a state Department of Transportation and Development communications tower, standing roughly 200 feet tall, next to Veterans Boulevard in Orleans near the 17th Street Canal. State workers scrambled early Thursday to sever pieces of the tower that were protruding into the busy roadway. Dick Thevenet, a state facilities official visiting the site late Thursday morning, said loss of the communications tower could disrupt certain DOTD communications. He said it had not yet been determined if the tower was knocked down solely by the overnight storm, or if the wind exploited structural weaknesses caused by Katrina. “We see a lot of rust — it couldn’t have happened this morning,” he said. “So it may have had some pre-damage.” The new damage will likely result in new homeowner insurance claims. One man driving down Louis XIV St., observing fresh damage, said, “I’m a claims adjuster, I’m on my way to three losses — three new losses.” And Ellen Verges, 47, a Lakeview homeowner now living Uptown, said the latest wind storm blew out windows in her Catina Street double that had been left intact by Katrina. She took new pictures Thursday in preparation for talking with her insurance agent, but wasn’t happy to be making yet another claim. “I want to get back to normal. I don’t want to see any more damage,” she said. At Pollock Place near Third Street in south Kenner, where one of the tornadoes was first reported, Earline Guillard, her fiance and son and niece were sleeping when they were awakened by heavy rain and then a roaring noise. “The wind shifted the house and we fell out of the bed,” she said. “We crawled to the hallway until it was over.” As the winds were literally twisting the two-story house slightly off its foundation, Guillard called her 21-year-old daughter Latonya. “I really thought I was not going to make it,” she said. “I just wanted to hear her voice.” A companion tornado that moved generally northeast to the airport and then near 22nd Street and Williams Boulveard dealt two of three warehouse businesses at Kenner Avenue and Farrar Street a heavy blow. Alpine Plastics, the second largest plastic bag manufacturer in the country servicing businesses like Wal-Mart and Safeway grocery stores, had a huge delivery truck hurled into its building and sustained “significant” damage, Chief Financial Officer Janak K. Sheth said. None of the 80 employees were injured, he said. Nearby, Economic and Janitorial, an institutional janitorial supply company with clients that include Starbucks, Baskin-Robbins and the Orleans Parish school system, was heavily damaged. Parts of the side and rear of the building were peeled away by the winds and supplies were scattered throughout the parking lot. Owner Suzie Migliore worked during the morning to clean up the facility and find a temporary location. “We should be relocated to another location in Kenner and be up and running by Monday,” company controller Eric Brauner said. The outlook was gloomier for Mike Ippolito, a Lakeview resident who owned four laundromats before Hurricane Katrina. The location at Paris and Mirabeau Avenue took on five feet of water. Winds and 10 feet of water destroyed his shop at Crowder and Lake Forest Boulevard and four feet of water did in his Reed and Morrison Road business. His home on Pressburg Street had 10 feet of water. Until early Thursday, he and his mother, Cathy, still had the Laundry Basket at Williams Boulevard and 22nd Street. Until the tornado torn the roof off the building. “I lost my house and all four of my businesses,’’ he said. “I don’t know what to think.” Less than a block away, Joe Ricca and his family were feeling some of the same pain. The family’s Ice House business lost a metal canopy and sustained significant roof damage in the tornado, which hurled pine cones with such force that they punched holes into the siding of a home a block away. Ricca, a St. Bernard resident, lost his house to Katrina and the family’s Ice House location in St. Bernard was totaled. But Ricca and his brother-in-law Donald Arcenaux and other family members did their best to remain upbeat. “They say bad news comes in threes,” Arcenaux said, before rattling off Katrina, Rita and the tornado. “Hopefully this is my third and this is all over.” The storm briefly knocked out electricity at Ochsner Clinic Foundation’s headquarters at 1514 Jefferson Highway, forcing it to use generators, spokeswoman Amiee Goforth said. However, the disruption, which happened when trees along Jefferson Highway took down power lines when they were blown down, lasted only a few minutes, she said. Nearby, the storm badly damaged most buildings on the eastern side of Iris Avenue in Jefferson, blowing off roofs and destroying some units at a mini-storage on the corner of Jefferson Highway and Iris. “It ran through us like a bowling ball through an alley,” said Greg Luke, property manager at Dependable Storage on Jefferson Highway. He said some of the facility’s hundreds of units are unharmed, but a count was not yet available. Across Jefferson Highway, Robert DeFraites, owner of Reliable Disposal, pointed out debris blown hundreds of yards by Thursdays storm. “I had it all cleaned up from Katrina,” he said, nodding to sheet metal from the roof Katrina blew off, now scattered two football fields away. “I had that all cleaned up.” Thursday’s tornadoes, coming in some areas still recovering from Katrina, was almost too much for some to bear. Pam Roach, who was inside her Farrar Street home with her mother and sister, remained jittery hours after a tornado damaged her awnings and roof and destroyed her storage shed. “You could feel the vibrations of the house,” she said. “There were lights flashing and glass cracking and it was like hell opening up.Every imaginable noise was happening all at the same time.” She described it as a blessing that no one was hurt, but couldn’t help but shake her head as she thought about the likelihood and getting hit first by a storm like Katrina, and then by a tornado. “We’re in a perpetual state of recovery,” she said. “Next month, what will it be?” Sheila Grissett, Bruce Hamilton, Lynne Jensen, Mary Swerczek, Coleman Warner, John Pope and Leslie Williams contributed to this story.Bob Ross may be reached at rross@timespicayune.com or (504) 883-7053. 

1133

More of the murders in Massachusetts

Bush to request $439.3B defense budget
2/2/2006, 10:12 p.m. CT
By LOLITA C. BALDOR The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush next week will request a $439.3 billion Defense Department budget for 2007, a nearly 5 percent increase over this year, according to senior Pentagon officials and documents obtained Thursday by The Associated Press.

Two bombings in Baghdad kill 11 Iraqis
2/2/2006, 10:10 p.m. CT
By SINAN SALAHEDDIN The Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Two bombings 20 minutes apart killed at least 11 Iraqis on Thursday, and the U.S. military announced five more American battle deaths. A U.S. rocket attack on the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City killed a woman and enraged Shiites across Iraq.

1142

commercials

There is no such thing as 'La Nina' alone. That is 'old world' perspective. There was a study too by Duke about trees recently. All the 'conclusions' were based on 'perfect world' perspective. There was no current global warming dynamics entered into the study or any predictions. Duke's study isn't "W"rong, quite the contrary, the study fits perfectly into the Bush rhetoric of denial of Global Warming. The Explaining Away of Global Warming by focusing on 'single' issues of climate is detrimental to the nation. It's distractional and irresponsible.

That ain't La Nina, jerks. Stop lying. The 'Eddy Season' should prove to be highly dynamic and dangerous. But, not because of La Nina. It's because of the Global Warming vortices just like last season.

http://weather.unisys.com/satellite/sat_ir_enh_hem.html

1146

CNN must be hurting for new tape. This story is old and so is the tape. William Strier Unplugged.

1151

commercials

enough

February 3, 2006. 0332 gmt. The heat from a 'La Nina' would reach across the Pacific. NOT, take a nose dive into Antarctica. Maybe CNN can try again !

February 3, 2006. 0430z.

I am a non-participant tonight

I thought Retired President Jimmy Carter was wonderful on Larry King tonight. He was a man before his time. So many years later and he has yet to be proven wrong. "The Carter Center" is a legacy unmatched. Incredible man and former First Lady.

On to my absence from comment tonight.

Last night when the Nation should have recieved a full accounting of the state of this nation, we got a spin for the eletions of 2006.

Don't talk to me about 'my ideas' of environmental conscience when the statements begin wtih, "Coal fired plants..." Carbon Dioxide reduction by the USA is a top priority. It has the potential of 'righting' a planet completely out of balance. Don't tell me that I am supposed to believe otherwise. The USA contributes more than 25% of the carbon dioxide emissions globally. That is more than any volcano in USA history. It is more than any volcano globally.

Today, Joe Manchin, the embattled governor of West Virginia was a hero. He announced there would be a moratorium on all mining until full inspections were complete to insure the safety of workers. What Governor Manchin needs to do is promote an expanded version of any West Vriginia training program that will remove miners from mines and place them in safe jobs. We don't want those communities isolated. We don't need coal.

God's energy is the cleanest of all energy. It is renewable. It is always available. It's safe and terrorists are interested in them.

Wind.

Solar.

Geothermal.

Hydroelectric.

They are forever sources of energy and we can count on them. We just need to move in that direction. I don't see it any other way. I made a commitment to my children when they were born that I would never abandon them or the priority of making their lives worth living in a society that was kind and beneficial. I will never abandon that committment and haven't. I have been loyal to them and it shows all over them.

Tonight no matter the subject on AC360 it will be nothing but rhetorical 'raise the polls' baloney. I won't participate. When the Republican/Rove Spin Machine runs out of steam, reasonable minds will prevail.

To quote "The New Republic" :

David Kusnet, "Speech Impediment

"The first President Bush loved to quote Woody Allen's saying that half of life is just showing up. Last night, the current President Bush demonstrated the wisdom in those words. He delivered a pedestrian State of the Union speech, and he'll likely get a brief bounce in the polls just for showing up at an annual ritual designed to make any president look presidential. But by next week, nobody will remember what he said.

Tonight the world is in crisis. Israel is fighting on all fronts including an escalation of conflict with the government and settlers. Europe is receiving hate mongering from Hamas for a statement made A YEAR AGO regarding a cartoon in a neutral country paper. It isn't as though the cartoon was even disrespectful to the extent the 'hate' illustrates. The facts are that according to Islam tradition the image of Mohammad is not to be used. At all. I suppose that was made clear also by the Pentagon today when it took up arms against "The Washington Post" for a cartoon of Don Rumsfeld dismissing legitimate issues of concern expressed in that political cartoon.

Political 'art' is used to bring attention to subject in stark ways. I hope there is no apologizing by "The Washington Post" and the Joint Chiefs should know better than to treat a democracy as an Islamic religion when their Cabinet Level official falls under criticism. That cartoon can't hold a candle to the pictures of Abu Ghraib. The Joint Chiefs need to put it into perspective and move on. Otherwise, they might want to promote to higher office still a general who sees faces in clouds while flying a USA military aircraft.

What was that bigot's name?

Well, like the "New Republic" said: "Gone in a week." The Republican and their spin machines are making the best they can of this including Rumsfeld, evidently.

The best news is that the Oscars are finally making nominations I can live with.

Small Films With Potent Themes Lead Oscar Nominations

I guess 'The Academy" learned from their mistakes last year when "Fahrenheit 911" should have won, just as Cindy Sheehan should have kept her T-shirt and seat last night.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have other things to do, including turning off my television for the night.

Good Night and Good Luck.

Goal: To harness the 'emoting' is to control the public

Christian Conservative News, "The Agape Press" feels Aaron's pain. Does not approve of 'emoting' as a reason to avoid reality and deal with the issues of a nation. With articles like this will people realize they are being manipulated for millions if not billions of dollars right into the danger zones of public policy?


Truth Isn't Enough ... You Must Weep

By Matt Friedeman
January 30, 2006

(AgapePress) - A new study from Emory University informs us that emotions are what count the most in the matter of forming political opinions, with reasoning and truth trailing significantly in importance. Magnetic resonance imaging reveals that the emotional centers in the brains of strong partisans "light up" when confronted with ideological messages.

So?

... Word is that even the pro-lifers on the committee were moved to defeat legislation to ban cloning and the like. Remember -- this is Mississippi, one of the reddest of the red states and the buckle of the Bible belt. But the testimony of an expert was no match for emotion, and even stalwart pro-life committee members failed to remain absolutely firm on a position on which the United Nations has already taken action (banning cloning).

We are suckers -- for tears, for emotion, for the stuff that tugs at the heart.

Cultural conservatives are not the only ones frustrated with the situation. Imagine if you were concerned with rationality on the "idiot box," otherwise known as TV. "Television is the most perfect democracy," frustrated TV news anchor Aaron Brown said in a recent speech. "You sit there with your remote control and vote." The remotes of the living rooms of the nation move from channel to channel when serious news plays, but when the coverage turns to scandals surrounding the runaway bride or Michael Jackson, "there are no clicks then," Brown said.

Feel Mr. Brown's pain....

The Rhetoric Continues...

908 - enters chamber

912 - starts speech, calling on the memory of the late Coretta Scott King while calling on the after life with her spouse. It would have been nice to hear commentary on her life. "The Afterlife" is up to the ministers, not Bush.

914 - alludes 'civil debate.' Lesson time.

"enemies of freedom' of which he is not one, of course. "Isolationism and protectionism." That is what Bush practices. I don't hold much hope for this speech. We are off to deception already.

"Misguided Idealism." He's an ideologue. He listens to no sound advice on any front. We won't be in Iraq if he did.

"A new chapter" - It isn't George. Colors of voting doesn't make it a democracy. Zimbabwee is currently experiencing Super Inflation. Their currency is currently worthless due to high debt.


Zimbabwean crisis heightensby STAFF EDITORS (1/25/2006)

The latest phrase being coined in Zimbabwe is about vehicles breaking down due to "shock" after being refilled with cheap fuel from registered gas stations.While the joke reveals the cynical nature of how Zimbabweans are coping with an over five years crisis, the symbol of the country's economic decay - the long snaking queues from gas stations have long since disappeared.

The United States dollar, which fetched Z$6,000 in January last year, is now worth Z$79,000 with inflation having reached 585 percent at the end of the year

...There are however no visible signs that Zimbabweans might revolt against Mugabe's government.
"The government has failed to anger us," said Tambudzai Makosi, a 52-year-old primary school teacher. "Look at the poor salaries we are earning, and more still someone destroying the house you have build and you do nothing about it."
The government is however well placed to crash any signs of dissent. In 2005 it passed a law that allows authorities to confiscate the travel documents of anyone deemed to be anti-government with the first victims having been an independent newspaper publisher, a senior MDC official and the leader of the country's trade union movement.
Chiefs of the army, police and Central Intelligence Organisation have been organised into a Joint
Operation Command to stamp out any signs of dissent, in a move analysts say is meant at ensuring that President Mugabe retains power until 2008 when he is expected to step down.

Bush has no intention of intervening with Zimbabwe or any other country in a way that offers hope or relief to the people.

The USA has already retreated from the world. There is no common goal between the international community and the USA. We are isolated. Very isolated. There is no clear victory on the horizon. No more today than May 1, 2003. "Mission Accomplished."

You are not winning, George. Where is Osama bin Laden?

Where are you getting the money for the war, George? Halliburton?

929

Typical Bush. Chronically living in denial. Hamas will never embrace Israel. They have said it for decades. Wow. George and his money must be powerful.

930

Iran has a mentor on this issue. He is addressing dissidents. He did the same thing before he invaded Iraq.

Nuclear file referral to Security Council ends diplomacy - Iran

TEHRAN, January 31 (RIA Novosti) - Iran ratcheted up the tension around its nuclear programs further Tuesday, when the country's top negotiator said the referral of the country's "nuclear file" to the UN Security Council would mark the final chapter in diplomatic efforts to end the escalating crisis.
"We regard any mention or report on Iran in the UN Security Council as the end to diplomacy," said Ali Larijani, the secretary of the country's Supreme National Security Council. "For Europeans and the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors, it will mean an unsuccessful and bad solution to the issue."
The IAEA, the UN's nuclear watchdog, is due to discuss the Islamic Republic's nuclear research during an emergency session on February 2-3.
However, Larijani said Iran was not giving up talks with the trio of European nations handling the issue - Britain, France and Germany - and saw the negotiations with them as the only way out of the current crisis.
Representatives of three countries, as well as China, the United States and Germany met in London Monday to discuss Iran's nuclear programs. They decided that the UN Security Council would be kept informed about Iran's "nuclear file," but no action would be taken until March after a regular session of the IAEA, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
Tensions around Iran escalated after it abandoned a two-year moratorium on research into uranium enrichment January 10. Some members of the international community, led by the U.S., fear that Tehran could use the technology to produce weapons-grade material, as well as nuclear reactor fuel.

Iraq was never a threat to this country before the incompetency of this president. Bush believes his own lies.

The Patriot Act is an attack against the very lengthy suppression of American Civil Rights. The Patriot Act was supposed to be a temporary measure as is realized by the 'sundown' provision. It was only to be necessary UNTIL the enemies of the USA in Afghanistan were defeated. Bush is incompetent and can't stop the murderers. Now, realizing his incompetency he is calling on a 'renewed war' on the all feared impending attacks. If Bush was competent he should be reaping applause because the networks were defeated and hideous laws like The Patriot Act is no longer needed as our Homeland is SAFE. Bush is not capable of making peace for this country. He is only able to declare war at the price of the citizens of this country while his 'multinationals' reap exploitive profits.

Halliburton to spin off its KBR unit

Saturday, January 28, 2006 7:32:00 AM ETnewratings.comNEW YORK, January 28 (newratings.com) – Halliburton Co (HAL.NYS), the world's largest diversified energy services, engineering and construction company, Friday announced its plans to file an IPO (Initial Public Offering) for its engineering and construction unit, Kellogg Brown & Root Inc (KBR).The company said its 20% minority stake in KBR would be sold through an IPO soon after Halliburton delivers its annual report to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Houston Chronicle quoted analyst Roger Read of Natexis Bleichroeder as saying that Halliburton is likely to spin off KBR entirely. While KBR accounted for 52% of Halliburton's 2005 sales, it accounted for only 19% of the company’s profits. Halliburton's share price rose nearly 8% to a record high of $81 in Friday afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

There is no such thing as permanent ANYTHING ! Bush is such a jerk. He uses the word permanent to harness his base.

Line-item veto

Let's just veto Bush and impeach he and Cheney in 2006-07.

Social Security Tampering is political suicide, especially in 2006. They applaude ANYWAY. This is a show for Bush's base.

There is nothing new about Bush's Border Security Plan. It goes nowhere with his House or Senate.

President Discusses Border Security and Immigration Reform in Arizona

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/11/20051128-7.html

For Immediate Release

Office of the Press Secretary

November 28, 2005

"Medical Reform Liability" - Look this entire speech is equivalent to "Terry's Law." His entire administration has nothing but spin for his base.

Power home and offices. There is no such thing as zero emission coal fired plants. That is completely dependant on injecting CO2 into the ground. The ground is saturated with CO2 from global warming. That is why there are vortices and super storms that heat the gulf. Bush is a liar. He is counting on us to be fools. He has written no legislation or promoted any new measure in any of his spending bills. If a president was sincere about any of this words the 'ideas' of the State of the Union Address would be to move the nation forward on 'ideas' already in process. 'The State of the Union' is not supposed to be a political speech. It is supposed to lay the ground work of understanding of where we have been through ACCOMPLISHMENTS and THEN where those accomplishments are leading us. This is all pie in the sky stuff. There is no reason to believe a word of it. Sorry. Bush has no 'track record' for any of these statements.

He has yet to mention debt reduction. Quite the contrary. He has stated he wants to make tax cuts, which were pre-September 11th, made permanent. Whatever that means. He is just as irresponsible today as the day he took office.

For Texas town, mining is worth its weight in coal

By CHRISTINE S. DIAMOND, Cox East Texas
Monday, January 30, 2006
FAIRFIELD — From welders to electricians to engineers, the energy industry has played a significant role in Fairfield's economy for more than 35 years.
Which is why economic developers in Angelina County are working hard to promote Lufkin as one of nine competing sites in Texas to host the Department of Energy's $1 billion coal-fire research power plant — FutureGen. FutureGen is touted to be the world's first "near-zero emissions" coal-fired power plant.

Stennett introduces bills to control power plants
15-month moratorium on applications for coal-fired plants proposed
In reaction to the prospect of a merchant power plant being constructed in Jerome County, Sen. Clint Stennett, D-Ketchum, is introducing this week multiple bills to the Idaho Legislature.
Two of the bills were assigned numbers Thursday; the other three will be introduced today, Stennett said.
Sempra Generation announced last April that it intends to build a $1.4 billion, 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant 9 miles northeast of Jerome in Jerome County.
Stennett maintains that the state is being targeted because of its lack of laws regulating power plant siting, emissions and other aspects related to such a project.

... "I sent a letter to everyone in the Senate asking if they wanted to co-sponsor this," Stennett said Tuesday. "This is a non-partisan issue and I'm looking for bi-partisan support."
Any body politic within a 50-mile radius of a proposed coal-fired power plant would be invited to join the discussion, he said, as would members of the Idaho Department of Water Resources, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, and others...

Squabbles hindered rescue efforts
FEMA denied request for rubber boats
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
By Bill WalshWashington bureau
WASHINGTON -- A day before Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries fired off an urgent request for 300 rubber rafts to rescue people from what was expected to be high water in New Orleans.

Marked "Red-High" priority, the plea went to the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Denton, Texas, where a team of disaster experts considered it. As Katrina lashed southeast Louisiana and ruptured New Orleans' levees Aug. 29, FEMA gave its answer: "Request denied."
The episode, which came to light Monday at a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, is just the latest in a growing collection of planning miscues that, despite years of warnings, left the region woefully unprepared for the storm.
The hearing also laid bare evidence of infighting and back-biting among state, local and federal emergency responders once the levees broke and plunged 80 percent of New Orleans underwater. Countless acts of bravery were intermingled with squabbling over scarce rescue equipment as first responders operated in a virtual communications blackout.
"What strikes me is the utter lack of coordination in the search and rescue," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told a panel of four front-line officials involved in the Katrina response. "Don't you all talk to one another?"
The hearing was the 12th the committee has held looking at the government's actions before, during and after Katrina. Several more are scheduled this week and next week as the committee prepares to wrap up its work and issue a report in mid-March. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin is slated to testify Wednesday and Gov. Blanco is expected Thursday.
'We were not prepared'

1003

Ending of nothing but a speech that continues to divide the nation without uniting it.

Information is to create activism that benefits the war effort.

1000

So far what I am hearing from AC360 is 'information' about brain injuries and IEDs and the way to 'control' the danger and bring the injury under control.

This is outrageous. The American people need to redirect their political efforts to a party that seeks an end to our involvement.

I have no doubt, the ABC journalists 'embedded' in pure bravery to assess the ability of Iraqi forces to handle 'the job' and at the same time assess the necessity for American forces. Well. They succeeded in proving exactly the disrepair the Iraqi forces exist in comparison to the USA forces. Keeping in mind that the USA forces have improved 'their lot in life' after the American Taxpayer has ridiculed this administration over and over regarding putting our troops lives in unnecessary danger. Our American Newspapers have made issue of obvious indifference to the safety of our troops, including new IEDs that penetrate armor, armor that did not protect USA soldiers, dirty water fed to our soldiers, deficiencies to body armor, armor plates missing to enhance soldier performance rather than protection, abuses of Halliburton and the list is extensive. That doesn't begin to address the issue of deficit and cronyism.

Now, we have two very brave and possibily the first journalists who have gone on tour with an Iraqi troop. We realize from their sacrifice and far too late the difference the Iraqi forces face. Literally, Don Rumsfeld has passed on to the Iraqi forces all the equipment the American taxpayers have complained about.

I apologize to ABC News for this tragedy and desire them to realize how deeply felt this bravery by their journalists are felt. There are no words. Their families hardship is indescribable realizing the 'betrayal' of their trust as an embed and also the lack of oversight regarding the equipment the Iraqis have to use.

1020

Ask me if I care about tunnels at this point.

1025

This programming lacks 'outrage' over these circumstances REGARDING PIERS and promotes 'understanding' of the insufficiencies of this war both with insight and preparedness. This program is government propaganda to 'buffer' the incompetency and illegality of this invasion into Iraq while Osama bin Laden remains at large spurring violence when his videos are shown. The al Qaeda network should have been defeated first and a long time ago with a huge effort in Afghanistan rather than a slap on the wrist that enables American presence that promotes only the stability necessary for the protection of the 'oil and gas pipelines' in Afghanistan.

enough.

"Locked In Syndrome"

The theme of the show seems to be one of 'locked in.'

Locked into marriage with no way out except death of a spouse and child in Massachusetts. Divorce is not a bad word. There was once an active discussion about divorce 'War of the Roses' in the USA highlighting high profile divorces. That seems to be taboo. The only escape for men whom have changed their minds is death of their spouse and children? Is society actaully hoping to oppress that as well. It would seem to not be working.


Randall McCloy may very well be 'locked in' and may yet recover with time to connect mind and body.

1016

commercials

1018

The News Secretary

1020

commercials

1023

"Million Little Lies" - Get over it America. You've been had by the best in the business both in publishing and in politics. You don't have to be 'locked in' to the bad circumstances that now dominates the 'mind speak' of the conversation.

1027

"Locked in to a stupid society"

The 'contact' with a character in the book. Imagine making a case against fraud based on social benefit while upholding social 'mind speak.' Making priority out of criminality seems to be a speciality of this mess of a society we have. Justifying the unjustifable has maintained politicians that should be impeached voting for judicial nominees adverse to our actual well being. Now, there are opining polls that seek to justify spying on citizens against the very consitution that allows them to publish that trash. For what end? A future of victimization of people unable to pay for a lawyer who can defend them? We are victiminzing our nation rather than destorying a terrorist. Osama bin Laden should be dead. Rewarding anyone who advocates further violation against our civil rights is rewarding the escape of a killer. Don't you get it yet? Incompetency rules in Ameirca.

1031

commercials

1034

Children 'locked in' to families of abuse. Sometimes a concerned citizen unafraid to speak up can make a difference.

The 'tone' tonight is a call to patriotic strength through emoting with issues of family and not the issues of a nation.

1037

commercials

1040

"Locked up" for shoplifting and arson. The theives are primarily African American. A black detective. Ah, the bottom line; the caucasian man with the answers: Boost the sentence and ranking of the crime. Sorry, it's not murder and the prisons are packed full of black inmates. Anyone here have a good job? Doubt it. But, of course, financial loss of a mine through fines vs. lives is acceptable as opposed to loss of merchandise being figured into the bottom line. Somehow, I think we pay for the items shoplifted anyway.

1049

commercials

1051

Palestine 'locked in' to terrorist rule. Tom Foreman works up a lather for sympathy for Hamas. Another distraction from reality to defeat the focus of the failure of Bush.

Saudis: U.S. paved way for Hamas victory
By Claude Salhani Jan 28, 2006, 1:42 GMT

WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- A confidential Saudi report prepared just weeks before the Palestinian elections predicted a Hamas victory in Gaza and the West Bank and puts the blame on the United States: 'By failing to strengthen (President Mahmoud )Abbas`s position, the U.S. has paved the way for a Hamas victory,' states a document prepared by the Saudi National Security Assessment Project.

1055

commercials

1057

"Homicide in Hollenbeck" also known as 'Locked into poverty and dispair.'

This is the third time I am seeing this in relation to Anderson Cooper. This was made before Aaron left CNN far behind.

Aaron's back.

Broadcaster says serious news at risk
By JAN SJOSTROM , Daily News Arts Editor
Thursday, January 26, 2006

The anchorman whose boss once characterized him as ice compared with his successor's fire was anything but chilly in the impassioned speech he delivered Tuesday at The Society of the Four Arts.

"Truth no longer matters in the context of politics and, sadly, in the context of cable news," said Aaron Brown, whose four-year period as anchor of CNN's NewsNight ended in November, when network executives gave his job to Anderson Cooper in a bid to push the show's ratings closer to front-runner Fox News.

Brown said he tried to give viewers a balanced diet of light and serious news with NewsNight. "But I always knew when I got to the Brussels sprouts, I was on thin ice," he said.

When NewsNight spent four hours covering the arrest of actor Robert Blake for the murder of his wife, Brown received thousands of e-mails criticizing the amount of time the show spent on the story. Nevertheless, that show, which aired in April 2002, received the highest ratings of any program since NewsNight's coverage of the November 2001 crash of American Airlines flight 587.

"Television is the most perfect democracy," Brown said. "You sit there with your remote control and vote." The remotes click to another channel when serious news airs, but when the media covers the scandals surrounding Laci Peterson, the Runaway Bride or Michael Jackson, "there are no clicks then," the journalist said.

With the departure from the screen of the "titans" — Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings and Dan Rather — who "resisted the temptations of their bosses to go for the ratings grab, it will be years before an anchorman or anchorwoman will have the clout to fight these battles," he said.
Brown has spent most of his 30-year career in television news. He's covered everything from the Columbine High School murders to the aftermath of the space shuttle Columbia disaster. But viewers may remember best his on-the-spot coverage of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

He's shocked "by how unkind our world has become," he said. E-mail and talk radio appear to have given people the license to say anything, regardless of how cruel or false it may be, he said.
He cited the example of an e-mail faulting what the sender considered to be NewsNight's inadequate coverage of an anti-war protest in Washington, D.C. The note ended with, "I hope the violence visited on the people of Iraq will someday be visited on your children."
Those on the opposite side of the political spectrum are no more tolerant, Brown said. "Any criticism of the administration is regarded as hatred of the president and hatred of the country itself," he said.

Important issues, such as the prosecution of the war in Iraq at home and abroad, are being clouded over by "mud-wrestling" that skirts substance, he said. Consider what he called "the swift-boating of John Murtha," the Democratic congressman whose war record was smeared when he called for an exit strategy in Iraq. "Cable didn't search for the truth, but engaged in mock debates pitting those making the charges against Murtha's defenders," he said.
Many Americans on the left and the right aren't interested in the truth, but simply want news that confirms their viewpoints, he said. "You'd think that it's no more complex than good vs. evil," he said.

Journalists have fallen short in presenting important news in ways that allow viewers to see how it matters in their lives. But viewers must take up the battle as well, he said. "It's not enough to say you want serious news. You have to watch it. It isn't enough to say you want serious debate. You have to engage in it."

I agree with Aaron on all points. About Murtha? The findings would leave more questions than answers.

John Murtha was guilty of following 'a lead' that might bring about disclosure of corruption. Ex-Marines ain't dumb. They are also willing to take chances to right a wrong. Murtha knew $10,000 was a bribe. He knew it was illegal. He also wasn't going to pass up a chance to find out who was bribing Congressmen either. Any investigation, no matter how thorough would never have lead to his indictment either legal, political or social. He was after the same thing as the FBI in the sting operation. Both of them were 'casing' each other's ability to be corrupting.


Aaron Brown: On Cable News, Political Mud-Wrestling, And Viewership

Former CNN anchor Aaron Brown says he tried to provide NewsNight viewers with a balanced diet of light and serious news, but "I always knew when I got to the Brussels sprouts, I was on thin ice." That's one of many nuggets in this Palm Beach Daily News story about an "impassioned speech" he recently delivered.

Here are some of the other nuggets:

> On truth: "Truth no longer matters in the context of politics and, sadly, in the context of cable news."

> On the state of political debate in America: "Any criticism of the administration is regarded as hatred of the president and hatred of the country itself."

> On "the swift-boating of John Murtha:" "Cable didn't search for the truth, but engaged in mock debates pitting those making the charges against Murtha's defenders."

> On the viewers' responsibility: "It's not enough to say you want serious news. You have to watch it. It isn't enough to say you want serious debate. You have to engage in it."

"What would Aaron Brown do?"

It's the question CNN should ask itself whenever on very loose footing.

Tonight on AC360 the show is about lies. A lot of lies. Not little lies. Big lies. Big money lies.

I am not interested.

Lies are lies and there are no excuses for them. That's the problem with cable television. They can 'get away' with it. Well, now it would seem, they won't !

ENOUGH !

The Dupont Award received by CNN for the coverage of The Tsunami Tragedy had a leader. That leader was Aaron Brown.

New Orleans Resident Says: We Don't Need Anderson Here

I think I hit a nerve when I suggested that Anderson Cooper should anchor 360 from the Gulf Coast full-time. Here's an interesting e-mail I received:

"As a citizen of New Orleans who lost her home, I have to say that the last thing we need is Anderson Cooper permanently stationed on the Gulf Coast. I don't care what others may say, whether it be that 'he cares' or 'he was the best man for the job' when it came to covering the storm, it's all 'bullshit' itself. I used to watch Anderson's show, before the storm, and I thought he was a great Anchor, new, and everything else. Seeing him during the storm made me angry, and it angered me more when people applauded him for 'caring'. It's not an anchors job to care, it's their job to make 'you', the viewer, care. He is not a Hurricane Katrina expert. The people who have survived are the experts, not a media man who happened to pop-up at New Orleans' darkest hour. Where is the background in that?"

The rest of the e-mail is after the jump...

The other night, Anderson Cooper had Sean Callebs stand outside a restaurant Mayor Ray Nagin was at, because he didn't come in for an interview. That was not only tacky, but foolish and demeaning. If CNN, and their Anchors, are going to suggest that Ray Nagin 'fix' the city before he brings its citizens back, then maybe they shouldn't have turned what he said into a big deal.

CNN, and Anderson Cooper, don't understand how to cover New Orleans, especially when they hire a local anchor like Susan Rosegen. It must have boiled down to her personal connections with the people at the network, because there are reporters here who can muster a whole lot more talent than her.

It's been said and done, but it's becoming more and more evident that Quantity over Quality, no matter how much they do their best to deny it, matters more to Jon Klein and CNN. They've given up on being accurate, and instead, have added emotion because they don't know how to make up for it. Adding your own emotion to a story depreciates its message and value, and is bad journalism in my eye.

I've moved back to New Orleans, and it makes me laugh at what CNN chooses to report. I could go on and on, but I'll let it be.

Welcome back, Aaron. Can't keep a good man down.

Media update: Aaron Brown, former CNN news anchor, will discuss "Media and Politics in a Changing and Chaotic Time" at 3 p.m. at The Society of the Four Arts' Walter S. Gubelmann Auditorium, 2 Four Arts Plaza. Tickets: $25. Call 655-7226.

YES !

There are many Aaron Browns that make the newsprint. But. This is the only one noted that is an author.

Do I dare hope. It's one heck of an opinion piece. Editors of major newpapers need to take note !

Alito’s Confirmation and the Authoritarian Presidency
by Aaron Brown

January 24, 2006

One year ago, I watched Bush appoint a slew of executive-friendly legal counsel and predicted (in a different newspaper) that in his second term, he would no longer bother violating the law but would instead seek to change it. The more I learn about Samuel Alito, the more certain I become that I was terrifyingly right.

Unless you’ve grabbed this paper hot off the presses, Alito will be on his way to the Senate by now, likely with fewer token “no” votes than John Roberts earned. During the Roberts hearing, Biden called the process a “kabuki dance,” and having now watched two of the proceedings in their entirety, I must agree. Alito’s attempts to talk circles around the Senators of the Judiciary Committee were successful with frustrating frequency, and the Senators’ comments were disappointingly (but unsurprisingly) verbose, rambling, and non-specific. Questions with multiple elements were issued whole as bulleted lists, which of course allowed Alito to gloss over the points he didn’t care to address. Questions asked of no one in particular, rhetorical points made for the cameras, and meaningless charts were the hallmarks of yet another round of play-to-the-folks-at-home political soapboxing.

This doesn’t make the process uninformative; it just makes the information extraction process ridiculously oblique. More can be gleaned from what Alito refuses to say than from what he actually says in response to questions. Senator Specter opened the proceedings with an inquiry into Alito’s position on the right to privacy, in which the right to an abortion is rooted, and Alito quickly and unequivocally asserted that it is protected by the Constitution. Specter wasted no time jumping into the political powderkeg of Roe v. Wade, questioning Alito abut his stance on stare decisis, the technical term for the doctrine that past judicial decisions should be followed in deciding future cases. Alito, unsurprisingly, blandly recited the standard platitudes about precedent establishing stability and constancy in the law, but he was disturbingly careful to emphasize former Chief Justice Rehnquist’s oft-quoted opinion that stare decisis is “not an inexorable command” every time the topic was raised.

He also played the advocacy card early on, but he stopped short of disavowing his 1985 statement that the Constitution does not protect the right to an abortion. His reasoning was identical to that of John Roberts: lawyers are advocates of their clients’ interests, often expressing views with which they might personally disagree. Alito claimed that because he was an advocate for the administration at the time, it should come as no surprise that his stated views neatly toed the party line. He refused to comment further, however, on the grounds that the issue might come up before the court.

When questioned on the issue of the Supreme Court’s role in checking the President’s power, he resorted to mealy-mouthed statements to the effect that no one is above the law. When pressed, he fell back on quotations from Justice Jackson’s concurring opinion in a 1952 Supreme Court case, which set forth three ways of categorizing Presidential actions. First, there are those actions the President takes which are backed by Congress; this is when the President’s power is at its zenith. Second, there are actions which are outside the scope of Congress’ prior consideration; in such a vacuum, Presidential power is only middlin’ strong. Finally, if the President acts against an explicit Congressional mandate, his power is at lowest ebb. Does this tell you anything about what Alito thinks of Presidential power? Me either.

This is not a small question! The latest authoritarian revelation from the Bush regime is the warrantless and completely unauthorized wiretapping of American citizens, a story broken by the New York Times last month. This is in direct opposition to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, but Attorney General Alberto Gonzales claims the “all necessary and proper force” language of the Authorization for Use of Military Force passed by Congress in the wake of the 9-11 attacks gives the President carte blanche to do as he damn well pleases when it comes to prosecuting the war on terror. (Uh, how do we reconcile that with the administration’s position that the war on terror is unending? Now all the President has to do is point and scream “Terrorist!” before he attaches the car battery to your nipples.) Of course, Alito actually has a perfectly valid reason to sidestep any questions specifically about FISA; it’s almost certain to come before the Supreme Court, and Alito, if confirmed, will have to enter an opinion.

But there is also the issue of the unitary executive theory, which stems from a very fine-grained reading of the Constitutional grant of Presidential power. The first sentence of Article II states, “The executive Power shall be vested in the President of the United States of America.” Simply put, the theory holds that executive power is indivisible, vested solely in the office of the President, because it is referred to as “the” executive power. This authority is apportioned out to several different organizations, like the military and the Environmental Protection Agency, but these organizations serve as arms of the executive. The upshot of this is twofold. Procedurally, it means no part of the executive branch may sue another part because this would be, in effect, the President suing himself. The substantive aspect of this theory, however, is that the President gets to define the scope of his own power, a decision which may not be reviewed by the judiciary. John Yoo, principal defender of this position and influential White House legal strategist, argued publicly less than a month ago that the President has the power to order a suspect’s child tortured in front of them if he so chooses-including crushing the child’s testicles.

Alito has also expressed the belief that the President’s signing statements declaring his understanding of a bill’s intent should be given as much deference as the statements of Congress contained in the bill. In signing the McCain torture ban into effect, for instance, the President issued a signing statement that completely eviscerated the bill by exempting the Presidency, and thus the entire executive branch, from its purview. Bush has been shockingly willing to sign anything that comes across his desk, the first President since James Garfield to go an entire term without vetoing anything (and Garfield was assassinated after only a few months), but his reasoning now seems simple: why veto a bill when you can just change it with a signing statement? In fact, Bush has used this trick more than 500 times since he took office.

Alito has given every impression of candor and forthrightness in his confirmation hearing, but he has carefully stopped short of outright denouncing the radical Right views that make the voting public skittish. It’s the things Alito won’t say that shock the attentive viewer. He refuses to disavow the notion that the President’s “signing statements” carry equivalent weight to the actual words of the legislation he signs. He won’t flatly and directly state that the President cannot override the law or immunize others who break it. He declines to comment on whether the President is the only one who can determine the extent of Presidential power. This is madness!

The real elephant in the room, however, is whether we can even trust what Alito actually does say. Senator Schumer pointed out that both Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas expressed great respect for precedent in their confirmation hearings, yet these two vote to overturn precedent as though it were mere conjecture and suggestion. In his confirmation hearing, Scalia even criticized Thomas’ propensity for voting his personal opinion over established law whenever the two conflict. What is to bind Alito to his statements more closely than his colleagues-to-be? Absolutely nothing.

Of course, now everyone wants to know whether there will be a filibuster. The Democrats, faced with their last chance to make serious use of the tactic in stopping a judicial nominee, have very itchy trigger fingers, but Alito has been so careful to keep his actual opinions under wraps that there may not be any real justification. Nevertheless, Democrats may filibuster the Alito nomination simply to force the Republicans’ hand on the so-called “nuclear option” of removing the filibuster from the Senate rules altogether. That the Republicans even threaten such a thing is evidence of their obsession with pushing their agenda at the expense of everything else and symptomatic of their lack of respect for the political process. Forcing them to actually exercise the nuclear option, however, would set off a firestorm in Washington, and with the upcoming Congressional elections, the Republicans really can’t afford to look bad.

The verdict? Loathe though I am to admit it, Alito will likely pass, but it’s going to be a hell of a show. Those of you who love soap opera politics, stock up on popcorn and stay tuned. Those of you who realize you have to live in this country, stock up on bottled water and start digging your bomb shelter. It’s a scary time to be an American.

I am going to 'sit out' tonight.

People still disapprove of Aaron Brown's leaving.

Please note below.

Critics are still trying to make sense of the absence of Aaron Brown.

CNN Clueless in Hunt for Young Demos
Jan 16, 2006

By Marianne Paskowski

Memo to CNN chieftain Jonathan Klein: It has now been more than two months since you gave Aaron Brown, who anchored CNN's "NewsNight With Aaron Brown" for the past four years, the big heave-ho. I know, business is business and Mr. Brown's ratings were tanking.

But if you think you're going to get younger (or so-called more desirable) demographics with Anderson Cooper in that role, forget it. I don't know how old you are, Mr. Klein, but when I was a youngster still living at home, I could not care less about the 10 p.m. news.

That's because I was out partying with my pals and had no mortgage to pay or world issues to fret about. In contrast, my parents, who supported me, were glued to TV news each and every evening. They seemed to get some comfort out of it all. To me, watching news was punishment, and I watched it only when I was grounded.

Face it, news is never going to attract the younger demographic. Madison Avenue knows that. Why else would all those commercials for Maalox and Gas-X-products which I never knew existed in my carefree youth-run in news programs? Heck, even today I spend more time online than I do with my television set, and I am not a member of Gen Y.

For those of us who even watch news at 10 p.m., due to your decision, we have to endure a rather stiff-looking and -sounding Anderson Cooper, in Brown's old role, dutifully reading or showing the work of a dozen other reporters each night. He looks bored.

I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I'm now voting with my remote control and getting my news from Comedy Central's Jon Stewart or NBC's Jay Leno. They, just like Mr. Brown, have what Mr. Cooper lacks: a worldliness and grasp of current affairs and a wonderful sense of humor.

Instead of propping up Mr. Cooper in that ridiculous business suit in the news studio, it's time to put him back in the field, where he excelled: Reporting, on the scene, in his swashbuckling manner, about natural-disaster stories such as the Asian tsunami or, more recently, Hurricane Katrina.

That is his milieu. The other night Mr. Cooper seemed much more excited about a bomb scare in a San Francisco Starbucks than he was about the Supreme Court hearings. And that's OK. I can relate. Let him go back to do what pumps his adrenaline. What you've done here is akin to the powers that be here at TVWeek making me their chief counsel or bean counter instead of just allowing me to spew off as a columnist. They haven't offered me those other, more lucrative positions yet, but if they do, no thanks, I'll pass.

So, Mr. Klein, you might ask why is this nutcase writing this two months after the cow has been let out of the barn? Well, I'll tell you. The other day I caught "The Washington Journal" on C-SPAN and I heard Mr. Brown's name mentioned and I was excited.

Until then, I thought he had vanished from the planet.

At first I thought, "Yikes! He's coming back." Instead, it was a segment on a media bias study conducted by UCLA political scientist Tim Groseclose, who said his research found that CNN's "NewsNight" was one of the most centrist media outlets.

I was glad to hear that, but realized how much I still missed watching Mr. Brown in my home each evening. And I'm not alone. Internet bloggers remain enraged over his departure. We especially remember his poignant and comforting reporting on Sept. 11, during a time when fear enveloped America after the bombing of the World Trade Center.

Mr. Brown, back then, was only days on his new job, but somehow his passion, pathos and sensibility helped us all get through that tragic time.

It's certainly an interesting time in TV news. CBS's Dan Rather is gone. NBC's Tom Brokaw passed the baton. And, most unfortunate, ABC's longtime anchor Peter Jennings has passed away. Even ABC's "Nightline" anchor Ted Koppel threw in the towel as a regular weeknight fixture on TV.

Again, back to the demos. I don't envy you your job, Mr. Klein, because even if you produce news for online, wireless or iPods, the young demo you are seeking is simply out of your grasp. So why not cede the turf back to the veterans who report for adults who really watch news?

Only a suggestion. But while I'm at it, I have another one for you. Let's pare down CNN's "NewsNight" to an hour.

Like I mentioned earlier, I forced myself to watch Mr. Cooper for the full two hours. If I don't have an attention span of that length, do you think younger demos do?

Chasing The 25-54 Demo: Pointless?

TV Week columnist Marianne Paskowski writes a memo to CNN/U.S. president Jon Klein:"...If you think you're going to get younger (or so-called more desirable) demographics with Anderson Cooper" in the NewsNight time slot, "forget it. I don't know how old you are, Mr. Klein, but when I was a youngster still living at home, I could not care less about the 10 p.m. news.That's because I was out partying with my pals and had no mortgage to pay or world issues to fret about. In contrast, my parents, who supported me, were glued to TV news each and every evening. They seemed to get some comfort out of it all. To me, watching news was punishment, and I watched it only when I was grounded. Face it, news is never going to attract the younger demographic. Madison Avenue knows that. Why else would all those commercials for Maalox and Gas-X-products which I never knew existed in my carefree youth-run in news programs? Heck, even today I spend more time online than I do with my television set, and I am not a member of Gen Y..."

Cooper Is "Younging-Down The Hour"

In TV Week today, Marianne Paskowski criticizes Jon Klein's decision to appeal to younger viewers by placing Anderson Cooper in primetime. This afternoon an industry observer, not affiliated with any network, responded in an e-mail:"Paskowski's column is pretty hysterical because Cooper's gains are ALL in the younger demos. I've seen the numbers. In the 10p ET hour, 360's total viewers have risen just 2%. But what's happening is that Aaron Brown's older viewers are fleeing and being replaced by 18-49s. Whether it's worth all the hype is a separate question, but Cooper is absolutely younging-down that hour."That's why the Anderson-bashing is pretty much irrelevant: If older viewers are being replaced by younger viewers, the programming change is a success for CNN...

Complete Government Incompetence. The 'science' surrounding Katrina was completely sound.

AC 360 on Katrina 'foot dragging' also known as "Who cares!"

Perhaps we all need to be reminded how ridiculous the circumstances surrounding complete devastation of the Gulf Coast actually is:

Katrina vs. Sea Surface Height

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Katrina_vs_sea_surface_height.JPG

Katrina's Path

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Katrina_2005_track.png

Katrina's Landfall

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Hurricane_Katrina_August_28_2005_NASA.jpg

Katrina's Eyewall

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:HurricaneEye.jpg

Katrina Pictures

http://www.katrinahelp.com/hurricane-katrina-pictures.html


How to get a FEMA trailer. The date of the article is November 11, 2005.

http://www.wdsu.com/news/5305091/detail.html


Evidently, on December 1, 2005, it was a real event when 'neighbor's got a trailer.'

http://mediajunkie.com/insidethebowl/2005/12/our_neighbors_get_a_fema_trail.html


Update 1: New Docs Show Gov't Forewarned on Katrina

http://www.forbes.com/business/energy/feeds/ap/2006/01/23/ap2470511.html

1030

I hate to be a 'party pooper' but the issue with the Crown Victoria was introduced by Aaron Brown.

There was a time in this country when 'the culture' cared about people. They don't anymore. Companies have removed themselves from customer service as they have had their liability threshold reduced in any class action suit. In 'Bush's Brave New World' customers literally have put their lives on the line when they purchase any technology, medicine or what was normally protected including automobiles.

The 'class action' suit is no longer effective so much as 'embarrassing' a company. Consumers have to form 'unions' to protect themselves from corporate disinterest and greed.

www.customeraskford.com

I didn't get results at this website.

Ford

Something about this company that screams, 'Get Help Here !'

http://www.ford.com/en/default.htm

Perhaps a 'warning' notice here?

http://www.ford.com/en/support/Search_Results?referrer=home&search=crown+victoria&searchend=end&image1.x=35&image1.y=10

Ford is not interested in helping consumers. They want it all to go away.

I rest my case.

1050

The Alma Mine was a prime example of 'Safety Incompetency' encouraged by Bush's Administration, House and Senate. Bush deliberately reduced the 'cost' of mining by compromising miner safety, passing legislation eliminating independant 'air shafts' into mines. In other words, where there should be 'vents' to the surface allowing 'fresh air' in to the mine it was no longer necessary to comply with what was necessary for miner air quality. Miners are disposable you understand. See, Bush doesn't realize human beings also sit on the Board of Directors of mine companies. It's time the Board members, the CEOs as well as the stockholders that gamble with people's lives for profits are sued.

Air quality violations of the human lungs by the Bush Administration doesn't stop with lungs and lives of miners in West Virginia.

Clean-air shift called unsound
State officials, scientists dispute EPA bid to strip regulations on airborne dust in rural regions.
By Chris Bowman -- Bee Staff Writer

A Bush administration proposal to strip certain clean-air protections from such rural areas as the rice bowl north of Sacramento is scientifically unsupportable, California air regulators and scientists said Wednesday.

The rural rollback, supported by the mining industry, is one of several proposed revisions in the regulation of tiny airborne particles from vehicle exhaust, power plants, farming and mining operations and other sources.

In developing the proposals, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency scientists analyzed a mounting body of science that links the fine particles to heart disease, strokes, asthma attacks and shortened lifespans.
Under the proposals published Tuesday, the EPA would take the unprecedented step of setting a different level of clean-air protection for some Americans than for others. The daily limit on the amount of particle pollution in urban areas would be tightened while the restrictions in rural regions would be removed altogether.

The state Air Resources Board nonetheless disputes the federal EPA position that airborne dust in rural areas is relatively safe and does not warrant federal regulation.

"Rural areas still have airborne particles from diesel-powered farm vehicles and equipment, from animal wastes and from pesticides and fertilizers," said Jerry Martin, air board spokesman. "We don't think those particles are any safer just because they aren't emitted in urbanized areas."

The bulk of the health studies have been conducted in urban areas. The few performed in rural regions, like a recent investigation in Southern California's Coachella Valley, provide "sufficient evidence" that the coarser specks from farms are harmful, according to Catherine Witherspoon, the board's executive officer.

"There have been too few studies ... to allow an informed judgement as to the relative toxicity of rural vs. urban coarse particles," Witherspoon said in a recent letter to the EPA.

Further, state officials say there is no practical way to enforce a two-tiered air-pollution standard in many rural areas because windblown city pollution often ends up there. The rural Calexico region on the Mexican border, for example, records the most frequent violations of particle pollution levels in the state because of its proximity to the city of Mexicali.

EPA officials point out that its scientists and those on an independent review committee generally agreed the windblown specks in cities, coming mainly from vehicles and factories, are inherently more toxic than the typical rural dust kicked up on farms and dirt roads.

"The evidence to date does not support a national air-quality standard that would cover situations where most coarse particles in the air come from sources like windblown dust and soils, agricultural sources and mining sources," EPA spokesman John Millet said in a statement to The Bee.

Rural regions in chronic violation of the federal particle pollution standards are Colusa County, Imperial Valley, the Mojave Desert and the Owens Valley, which, as a result of Los Angeles' draining of the Owens Lake, has the worst dust storms in the nation.

Harry Krug, who doubles as agricultural commissioner and air pollution control officer in Colusa County - population 21,000 - said the state's phasing out of rice-straw burning in the Sacramento Valley ironically has worsened particle pollution there.

While the burning restrictions have lowered the levels of harmful airborne soot and bits of rice-straw fibers, the alternative of plowing the stubble into the fields has put more dust in the air, he said.

Even if the district had dust controls, Krug said, "there wouldn't be any uproar in Colusa County" over their removal.

A Bush administration proposal to strip certain clean-air protections from such rural areas as the rice bowl north of Sacramento is scientifically unsupportable, California air regulators and scientists said Wednesday.
The rural rollback, supported by the mining industry, is one of several proposed revisions in the regulation of tiny airborne particles from vehicle exhaust, power plants, farming and mining operations and other sources.
The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration regularly inspects the nation's mines and responds to accidents when they happen. When the government visited the Alma Coal No. 1 Mine in Logan County, W.Va., they recorded following information:
VIOLATIONS: During 2005, inspectors documented 95 violations at the mine. The most recent inspection -- conducted between Oct. 11 and Dec. 23 -- produced 29 violations, or about 30.5 percent of the year's total.
SUBSTANTIAL: Of the 2005 violations, inspectors documented about 48 of them as being of a "significant and substantial" nature.
ACCIDENTS: Inspectors documented 31 accidents at the mine in 2005, four of which occurred in December.

Now, given the fact rural America is primarily comprised of 'working farms' then there is OBVIOUSLY a delineation between people whom are protected by environmental law and those that aren't. Given that FACT now realized minimally in California is there any doubt how a mine operator views workers when precious metals are at stake. Are companies about profit only? When companies 'allow' lenient government policy to increase their employee morbidity and morality they are guilty of human rights violations. People are not commodities. The Chinese Gold Mine is no different when a Canadian company finds an opportunity for profits.

Canada Company Finds Gold in China

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: January 23, 2006
Filed at 10:21 a.m. ET
SHANGHAI, China (AP) -- Canadian mining company Magnus International Resources Inc. said it found ''encouraging'' gold results from drilling samples at a project in western China -- one of many foreign ventures moving ahead as international gold prices soar.

Final word on AC tonight regarding cuteness.

It's a survival mechanism, called neoteny. Projection of self into the offspring provides emotional bonding of a helpless infant. Neotenic development happens in humans when the rate of our childhood development is slowed significantly. This means that more learning can happen in humans during our development. There is more time for a richer and fuller development of our minds. Noted that human curiosity may have had a role to play in the development of human consciousness.

Not to make 'love' aseptic. Neoteny works to incude parents in a fulfilling experience as well.

Enough