The GOP Greenspan Problem

Republicans and their big Greenspan gap
By ROBYN BLUMNER
Published September 30, 2007

Talk about a kick in the teeth. It's one thing to have former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill or even former CIA chief George Tenet turn on you once they are out of office; it's quite another to have the Delphic oracle on all things economic, Alan Greenspan, do so. Our president likes to point to the American economy as one of his successes. Despite turning a $5.6-trillion 10-year projected surplus into a $2.4-trillion 10-year projected loss, President Bush boasts that his aggressive tax cutting has led to economic growth and a lower deficit than anticipated. In other words, he's putting less on America's credit card than expected. Goodie. (read the entire article)

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September 30 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

Today there's Whither Rush Goest, So Goes FOX News; FOX Now Insults War Generals.

Giuliani As John Kerry (Ouch!)

And when it comes to war there's “War Made Easy”: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death and Iranian Sock Puppets Feed Into Right-Wing War Mongering.

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F**K Bush on OpEdNews.com

September 30, 2007

F**K Bush
by Brian Wolf
http://www.opednews.com/

Irritating isn’t it? In a land of free speech we have to censor ourselves. In a country where the Vice President feels it’s perfectly alright to go into the US Senate and tell a ranking US Senator to fuck himself. So the bar has been set hasn’t it? Keeping that in mind.

Fuck Bush

You heard me, fuck Bush.

Isn't free speech great? In some Countries talking about the leadership that way would get you executed. That is why I'm throwing my support behind the editor of Colorado State Universities Student Newspaper whose job is on the line for allowing those exact sentiments to be printed.

(read the entire article)

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Can You Find The Phony Soldiers?

Click here for original post and more images on Corrente (Boldly shrill...)

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On Shakedown Street Today

Your host Brian Wolf covers and News and Commentary and the return of By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them on today's broadcast of Shakedown Street.

That's at 4:00pm Pacific Time (-08:00 GMT) on Blog Talk Radio.

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Ancient Technical Support

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Petraeus: A Political General of the Worst Kind

Sycophant Savior
General Petraeus wins a battle in Washington—if not in Baghdad.
by Andrew J. Bacevich

In common parlance, the phrase “political general” is an epithet, the inverse of the warrior or frontline soldier. In any serious war, with big issues at stake, to assign command to a political general is to court disaster—so at least most Americans believe. But in fact, at the highest levels, successful command requires a sophisticated grasp of politics. At the summit, war and politics merge and become inextricably intertwined. A general in chief not fully attuned to the latter will not master the former. George Washington, U.S. Grant, and Dwight D. Eisenhower were all “political generals” in the very best sense of the term. Their claims to immortality rest not on their battlefield exploits—Washington actually won few battles, and Grant achieved his victories through brute force rather than finesse, while Ike hardly qualifies as a field commander at all—but on the skill they demonstrated in translating military power into political advantage. Each of these three genuinely great soldiers possessed a sophisticated appreciation for war’s political dimension. David Petraeus is a political general. Yet in presenting his recent assessment of the Iraq War and in describing the “way forward,” Petraeus demonstrated that he is a political general of the worst kind—one who indulges in the politics of accommodation that is Washington’s bread and butter but has thereby deferred a far more urgent political imperative, namely, bringing our military policies into harmony with our political purposes. (read the entire article)

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September 29 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

On the tail of today's Situation Awareness there's Hardball: Mario Cuomo Describes Congress As Abdicating Their Constitutional Duties and Leaders Lead (a very good and moving video clip).

Bill O'Reilly, In Payback Frenzy, Goes After Boulder High School Again (time for the straightjackets).

Happy National Coffee Day!

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Saturday on the Free World Radio Network

Today on Situation Awareness my guest will be Dr. John R. Moffett, Internet radio broadcasting pioneer and editor of Factinista.org. Juoh is also a regular contributor to OpEdNews.com. Our topic today will be Are We Really In This Together? That's today at 10:00am Eastern Time (-05:00 GMT).

Then be sure to tune in to The Free World Pub, when we open our doors at 11:00am Eastern Time (-05:00 GMT).

That's coming up today on the Free World Radio Network.

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“The phony soldiers,” says Rush Limbaugh

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Have you ever felt like this? from Joe-ks.com

Click picture for larger image
Click here for original post on Joe-ks.com

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September 28 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

The General weighs in with Leave Rush Limbaugh alone and Under Attack.

And speaking of the liar, there's Limbaugh Outrage Amplified! Limbaugh’s response is to name Jack Murtha!

There's also If a blowhard smears the troops in a forest…

Be sure to catch So, are the Republicans running for President of the United States, or President of the white race? and The great American hypocrisy tour / Larry Craig's bathroom stall! Haggard's meth hotel! See all the sites of GOP shame. Fun for kids!

As for No Service, well, it is so good I'll be posting it separately here.

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Butterfly Ballots and William Jennings Bryan

Op-Ed Columnist
The Democratic Dark Side
By Gail Collins
Published: September 27, 2007

All the major Democratic candidates for president have signed a pledge promising they will only go to Florida or Michigan when they want to raise money. Among the really bad ideas in the history of the Democratic Party, this ranks somewhere between butterfly ballots and William Jennings Bryan. (read the entire article - requires registration. If unavailable, use the Adobe Acrobat copy, below.)

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The Conservative Value of Hating Our Troops

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Tonight: The Dark Side of Dysgenics

With Rev. Darko still out recruiting rodeo clowns for a possible invasion of Tuscaloosa, I'll be manning the switchboard for tonight's broadcast of The Dark Side.

I'll be asking "Is We Getting Dummer?" Well, is we?

That's tonight at 7:00pm Central Time (-06:00 GMT) on The Dark Side.

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September 27 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

First up, Limbaugh: pro-withdrawal troops are ‘phony soldiers.’

Next there's Senate Republicans get to do whatever the fuck they want because House Democrats don't understand the concept of payback which I covered in an earlier post.

Finally there's The Situation Room: Bill Clinton Slams Republicans for MoveOn Distraction

Happy National Corned Beef Hash Day!

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Who’s responsible?

Senate Republicans get to do whatever the fuck they want because House Democrats don't understand the concept of payback

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September 26 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

From the hypocrisy file there's Why Do Conservatives Hate Insuring Kids? and the General's Another Front in the Great Patriotic War Against Children.

Bill O’Reilly: CNN has joined Media Matters “on the Dark Side” (does Rev. Darko have anything to do with this???)

Gallup: Dems More Trusted on Security (poor GOPhers!)

And, from St. Lisa's backyard there's Austin City Limits Festival Food Rocks!

Happy National Pancake Day!

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O'Reilly admits he has no credibilty

O’Reilly Rips Columbia’s Invitation To Ahmadinejad As ‘Revolting,’ But Admits He Invited Him Too
With thanks to OldCADUser from The Drudge Retort for his original post there.

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Feline Technical Support

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September 25 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

From the "as if there was really any competition" category there's
Countdown’s Worst Person In The World: Big Fat Fraud Rush Limbaugh.

Definitely catch ‘The Revolt of the Generals’ ("Rudy Giuliani recently argued that U.S. military generals, by virtue of their service, necessarily have more credibility than practically anyone else. With that in mind, I wonder what Giuliani and others who share his approach to foreign policy have to say in response to the 20 generals who have defied tradition and rejected the Bush policy in Iraq.")

And speaking of Giuliani there's Giuliani Takes "President Of 9/11" Too Far.

Finally, there's Priorities, which I covered in a previous post.

Happy National Crab Meat Newburg Day!

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Priorities on Jesus' General

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Plundering of Hope

Specific suggestion:
General strike

by: Garret Keizer

published: October, 2007

Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust.
—Isaiah 26:19

Of all the various depredations of the Bush regime, none has been so thorough as its plundering of hope. Iraq will recover sooner. What was supposed to have been the crux of our foreign policy—a shock-and-awe tutorial on the utter futility of any opposition to the whims of American power—has achieved its greatest and perhaps its only lasting success in the American soul. You will want to cite the exceptions, the lunch-hour protests against the war, the dinner-party ejaculations of dissent, though you might also want to ask what substantive difference they bear to grousing about the weather or even to raging against the dying of the light—that is, to any ritualized complaint against forces universally acknowledged as unalterable. Bush is no longer the name of a president so much as the abbreviation of a proverb, something between Murphy’s Law and tomorrow’s fatal inducement to drink and be merry today. If someone were to suggest, for example, that we begin a general strike on Election Day, November 6, 2007, for the sole purpose of removing this regime from power, how readily and with what well-practiced assurance would you find yourself producing the words “It won’t do any good”? Plausible and even courageous in the mouth of a patient who knows he’s going to die, the sentiment fits equally well in the heart of a citizen-ry that believes it is already dead. (read the entire article)

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Tonight on Cry Freedom

Join host Lisa Litchfield as she tackles Adventures in Muckraking! on Cry Freedom.

That's tonight at 7:00pm Central Time (-06:00 GMT) on Blog Talk Radio.

Cry Freedom is a production of the Free World Radio Network.

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September 24 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

From the "what do you expect" category there's Bush: We Can’t Spend $22 Billion On America Because We Need $200 Billion For Iraq War.

More than 20 retired generals speak out against Iraq war (so much for Betrayus).

Another one from the "what do you expect" category there's Republican Senator At Center Of D.C. Madam Scandal Earmarks $100K For Christian Anti-Darwin Group.

And since it is Monday we have a new installment of The Top 10 Conservative Idiots, No. 307

Happy National Cherries Jubilee Day!

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Dear Progressives: Organize or Squabble, Which Is It? on OpEdNews.com

July 26, 2007

Dear Progressives: Organize or Squabble, Which Is It?
by John R Moffett
http://www.opednews.com/

There is an enormous chasm forming among liberals, progressives, and leftists, and the reason why is obvious.

(read the entire article)

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September 23 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

So much for the lies of this Administration in David and Go-lieth.

The Chris Matthews Show: Bloggers’ Influence on Politics, with Andrew Sullivan delivering the killer line: "I wish he (Bush) just had as much focus on winning the war in Iraq that he has on winning the war against the Democrats. I can’t believe that in a moment of this war–which is in a pivotal point–that he’s playing Rove’s partisan politics…"

And what Betrayus' boss says in Fallon: ‘Constant drumbeat’ of Iran war talk ‘not helpful.’

Happy Birthday Popi.

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The Great American Walkout on OpEdNews.com

September 23, 2007
(originally submitted to OpEdNews.com on Thursday, September 20, 2007)

The Great American Walkout
by Hans Meyer
http://www.opednews.com/

Tomorrow, September 21st, I will be joining my fellow Free World Radio Network hosts in supporting the Great American Walkout. The concept is simple: through a grassroots effort Americans can show the world that we can become energy independent. For one day don’t drive to work, ride a bicycle. Don’t own a bicycle? Walk. Too far to walk? Carpool. No one to carpool with? Stay at home! I will be choosing the “stay at home” option, and will broadcast Situation Awareness that day instead of on Saturday.

(read the entire article)

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On Shakedown Street: Juan Cole!

Host Brian Wolf interviews Dr. Juan Cole, Professor of Modern Middle East and South Asian History at the University of Michigan, President and Treasurer of the Global Americana Institute, and author of the Web site Informed Comment.

Among the books he has written are Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East, Sacred Space And Holy War: The Politics, Culture and History of Shi'ite Islam, and Modernity and the Millennium.

Readers of this blog know that I have previously posted Fisking the War on Terror, written by Professor Cole.

Be sure to tune into Shakedown Street today at 4:00pm Pacific Time (-08:00 GMT) on Blog Talk Radio, a broadcast of the Free World Radio Network.

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September 22 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

From the Bill O'Liely file there's Email from a Bill O’Reilly fan (you just knew it was true) and Bill O'Reilly Is Shocked That Not All Blacks Are Animals.

And, stating the obvious there's The Clueless Fred Thompson.

And, from the "compassionate conservative" file there's Bush Vows to Veto Kid's Insurance Bill.

Be sure to read Wolcott's Shits and Savagery.

Celebrate National Meatloaf Appreciation Day (with Serious Eats), and Happy National Ice Cream Cone Day!

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They Stumble Headlong on Whisky Fire

September 21, 2007
They Stumble Headlong

Senator Lindsey Graham on why he and 47 other senators voted against the Levin bill to bing US toops home from Iraq in 9 months: "It would be a very overt rejection of Gen. Petraeus' leadership," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). The military commanders "have earned the ability to carry on their mission," he said at another point. Bite me. In a "very overt" kind of way. First off, withdrawing the troops would be a rejection of Bush's leadership, and the GOP's leadership, and neither has "earned" anything except the disgust and hatred of the vast majority of the American people. Second, "we must not ever hut the General's feelings!" as a rationale for anything is puerile and idiotic and a load of shit. General Petreaus is not our leader, and this is not his war. Nobody voted for him. And nobody's going to vote for anyone who wants to cower behind his uniform, either. Americans apparently know basic civics a doucheload better than Senator Graham, and his party is going to learn this in 2008. And I hope to Christ certain Democrats learn this in certain key primaries, also. (read the original article with comments)

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The Free World Pub...

...opens its doors at 11:00am Eastern Time (-05:00 GMT).

And since this show is part of the Great American Walkout, we'll be walking up to the bar.

That's today on The Free World Pub.

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Every day should be...

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The Annual Republican Witch-Hunting Season is Underway

Tom Tomorrow: Olbermann

So the President, behaving a little bit more than usual, like we’d all interrupted him while he was watching his favorite cartoons on the DVR, stepped before the press conference microphone and after side-stepping most of the substantive issues like the Israeli raid on Syria in condescending and infuriating fashion, produced a big-wow political finish that indicates, certainly, that if it wasn’t already — the annual Republican witch-hunting season is underway. (read the entire article)

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The Face of the Party of Traditional Family Values - Part II

A perfect follow-up to my original post on this subject.

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September 21 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

At the top of the deck there's "General Petreaus is not our leader, and this is not his war." which I will cover in a separate post.

Worth 10,000 Words, which I posted earlier ("His Kid...Your Kid").

And, the latest in the Friedman unit in Next time he’ll really mean it.

Finally, Today is the UN International Day of Peace.

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His Kid...Your Kid

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THE GREAT AMERICAN WALKOUT

Today is The Great American Walkout! I will be joining my fellow Free World Radio Network hosts in supporting this grassroots effort to show that Americans can become energy independent.

As part of this effort I will be broadcasting Situation Awareness today at 10:00am Eastern Time (-05:00 GMT), instead of my normal day and time on Saturday. The topic? The Great American Walkout!

Tonight's broadcast of The Dark Side, with your host Rev. Damien Darko, will also cover this important topic. So be sure to tune in tonight at 7:00pm Central Time (-06:00 GMT).

All programming brought to you by the Free World Radio Network, broadcast on Blog Talk Radio.

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September 20 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

From the "I am not surprised category" there's Gold Star Father Who Lost Son In Iraq Allegedly Beaten By Members Of Pro-War Group.

Also, check out A Conservative's Garden of False Narratives: Who are you calling a moonbat, anyway?

I've always thought that this would be a real money maker, and here it is in Coke testing self-chilling bottles.

Happy National Potato Month!

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Tomgram: American Exceptionalism Meets Team Jesus

American Exceptionalism Meets Team Jesus On Body Counts, Dead Zones, and an Empire of Stupidity By Tom Engelhardt He's a man who knows something about the dangers of mixing religious fervor, war, and the crusading spirit, a subject he dealt with eloquently in his book Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews. A former Catholic priest turned antiwar activist in the Vietnam era, James Carroll also wrote a moving memoir about his relationship to his father, the founding director of the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency. Carroll essentially grew up in that five-sided monument to American imperial power. For him, as a boy, the Pentagon was "the largest playhouse in the world" and he can still remember sliding down its ramps in his stocking feet, as he's written in the introduction to his recent, magisterial history of that building and the institution it holds, House of War. As a weekly columnist for the Boston Globe, he was perhaps the first media figure to notice -- and warn against -- a presidential "slip of the tongue" just after the assaults of 9/11, when George W. Bush referred briefly to his new Global War on Terror as a "crusade." He was possibly the first mainstream columnist in the country to warn against the consequences of launching a war against Afghanistan in response to those attacks -- now just another of the President's missions unaccomplished; and, in September 2003, he was possibly the first to pronounce the Iraq War "lost" in print. ("The war in Iraq is lost. What will it take to face that truth this time?") His stirring columns on the early years of our President's attempt to bring "freedom" to the world at the point of a cruise missile were collected in Crusade: Chronicles of an Unjust War. In those years, Carroll was a powerful, moral voice from -- to use a very American phrase -- the (media) wilderness until much of our American world finally caught up with him.") (read the entire article)

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Iran So Far Away on OpEdNews.com

September 19, 2007

Iran So Far Away
by Rev. Damien Darko
http://www.opednews.com/

Can you hear it? The drum-beats signaling our intention of attacking Iran have begun beating louder and louder. It seems to me that the more people who say that this impending attack is a phenomenally bad idea, the louder the drums get.

I don’t think there is anyone out there who says that Iran is a cute, cuddly nation. Far from it. The government of Iran is largely impotent against the Ayatollahs and the official line from both the government and the Ayatollahs is that we (meaning those of us who don’t acknowledge their omnipotence) are agents of Satan.

(read the entire article)

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Can't Demonize the Flying Nun

James Wolcott is a Vanity Fair contributing editor

Pickle Pusses

From the article:

Ken Levine must have a cast-iron stomach for a brain--what else could explain his bionic ability to not only watch the Emmys but blog about them not just once, but twice? I missed this year's bleepfest but I've following the predictable rollout of scrunchy indignation coming from the Fox News corral and the rest of the rightwing pipsqueakery over the controversial remarks of Sally Field, Kathy Griffin, et al. Controversial to the Fox Newsers, that is; just as the Patreaus love-in was a strictly pundit affair, the "media storm" over the Emmy comments doesn't extend beyond a few newsrooms, radio booths, and blog shacks. Despite Michelle Malkin's grandstanding huffing and puffing, Sally Field isn't someone who can be demonized; she's one of America's most endearing and adorable chipmunk-cheeked moms--going after her is like trying to tear down Florence Henderson...give it up, it's futile. Similarly, trying to whip up a big to-do over Barry Manilow's refusal to share airspace with Elizabeth Hasselbeck on The View is a nonstarter because Manilow is just too fluffy a target for ire. So this singing sheepdog doesn't want to chat with that conservative shrill pill--who can blame him? And do all those Fox News panelists really think that America is in a flecked froth over the Jesus wisecracks that comedian Kathy Griffin made that weren't even aired? To Griffin's stalwart credit, she's refused to apologize or smooth down any ruffled feelings, recognizing what a game this all is. The truth is that outrage isn't what it used to be. The Fox hosts and guests haven't even been able to get a rise out of people after broadcasting the addled, bizarro response of James Brolin on a radio talkshow where, upon being reminded what anniversary day it was, cheerily wished everyone, "Happy 9/11!" Brolin's words and tone were so blithely tasteless and cluelessly dumb ("Celebrate the day, right?" he added) that it was like something out of Terry Southern, a bit of macabre humor that had washed ashore. An apology is being demanded of Brolin too, though I'm not sure how you wring an apology out of a dense cloud and if I were Jonah Goldberg I'd be a little careful about whom I was calling "a jackass of bowel-stewing proportions," j'know? (read the entire article)

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Rudy Guilianni's Worst Nightmare on OpEdNews.com

September 19, 2007

Rudy Guilianni's Worst Nightmare
by Rev. Damien Darko
http://www.opednews.com/

Why Rudy should fear liberals, and not the other way around.

For those of you who haven't heard, Rudy Giuliani has come out and made the claim that he is the "Liberal's worst nightmare". When I read this, I couldn't help but laugh; not because I think the comment, itself is amusing to me (though it is), but because I couldn't help but picture Rudy wearing a bright red afro-wig and a red rubber nose when reading the words. Sorry, that's just how my mind works. The fact is, however, Rudy isn't the worst nightmare for any liberal, unless that particular liberal has a recurring nightmare of a corrupt Republican wearing a cocktail dress chasing them through a New York subway.

No, I can say, as a proud liberal, that I have absolutely no fear of Rudy. In fact, I'm going to go on the record right now as stating that I am Rudy Giuliani’s worst nightmare.

(read the entire article)

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September 19 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

The Taser/Andrew Meyer (no relation) story continues in Town Called Dobson (Secret History of the Taser) and the General (Disobedience is the enemy of freedom).

Rev. Darko's first OpEdNews.com contribution (covered in an earlier post): Media Misdirection

And don't miss these two, which I will cover in separate posts: Recent Tomdispatch and Pickle Pusses.

Happy National Butterscotch Pudding Day!

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Media Misdirection on OpEdNews.com

September 19, 2007

Media Misdirection
by Rev. Damien Darko
http://www.opednews.com/

So O.J is making headlines again. Just in time, too. We were starting to lose interest in Brittany’s latest public embarrassment and Lindsey Lohan hasn’t inadvertently displayed her “holiest of holies” this week.

This is why I don’t watch televised news any more. It’s also why I tend not to get my news from any source within the US. Apparently (at least according to those in the positions of media royalty), we can’t get enough stories about celebrities behaving badly, even though our country is being lead, merrily, along the path to our own oblivion. I suppose we should think nothing of the fact that we’re at war, and not handling that situation too well.

We shouldn’t care about the free-fall of the housing market as long as Paris Hilton is weeping uncontrollably over being unable to serve her jail sentence in her home, is that the idea?

I, for one, am completely sick of that.

(read the entire article)

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The Cineplex's Complex War on The American Prospect

The Cineplex's Complex War

In his new film, In the Valley of Elah, Paul Haggis offers a portrait of returned Iraq soldiers which critiques not just the war, but also the way we treat our veterans.

by Kay Steiger | September 18, 2007

Two-time Oscar winner, for Crash and Million Dollar Baby, Paul Haggis uses a powerful and heavy-handed image in the opening scenes of his new film: an American flag flying upside down. “Do you know what that means?” the main character Hank, played by Oscar-winner Tommy Lee Jones, asks the Salvadoran groundskeeper he encounters on his drive out of town to look for his missing veteran son. When the response is negative, he tells the man it’s an international distress signal -- and instructs him on how to fly the flag correctly.

The far left has been opposing the Iraq war for some time, but In the Valley of Elah tells the story of moderate, middle America coming to grips with the with its grim realities. In a stock murder mystery format, it shows young men (female soldiers are noticeably absent from the film) who go away to war as heroes and return capable of frightening violence. The movie is finally getting people to talk about something on the fringe of most discussions about the Iraq War: What happens to returning soldiers?

(read the entire article)

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Happy National Cheeseburger Day! on Slashfood

Click on picture for complete story

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September 18 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

There's a bit of history with The Forensics of Sha Na Na ("Not remotely important, but the weirdness might make you smile. Just learned that one of the world’s leading figures in forensic linguistics, a guy who has helped train investigators from the FBI, the NYPD, the Secret Service, and the ATF, a Fulbright Fellow and Phi Beta Kappa member, now a Hofstra professor of linguistics and Swahili…")

And this might be considered some "history" as well: Woolly Mammoth Dung To Speed Global Warming.

The General nails it with Making Tiny Normal.

Happy National Cheeseburger Day! (so good I'll have a separate post dedicated to this!)

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Harry Potter and the Taser on OpEdNews.com

September 18, 2007

Harry Potter and the Taser
by Hans Meyer
http://www.opednews.com/

From the article:

Monday evening I watched an interesting debate unfold in an on-line blog. The topic was the Tasering of a University of Florida student by the police at an open forum with Massachusetts US Senator John Kerry. The topic was so hot that the comments section easily swelled to over 500 posts in a matter of just a few hours...Originally I was going to title this piece, “The (Un)usual suspects,” as the participants in the aforementioned debate took some interesting sides in this story. (read the entire article)

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On Cry Freedom: Six Years - A Retrospective

Cry Freedom's host Lisa Litchfield looks back in her program tonight with Six Years - A Retrospective.

That's tonight at 7:00pm Central Time (-06:00 GMT) on Blog Talk Radio.

NOTE: Postponed from last week due to technical difficulties

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September 17 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

Bush's nomination of Michael Mukasey as AG is covered in Evaluating Bush's Pick for Attorney General, Viguerie angered over Mukasey nomination and
Right Wing ‘Deflated,’ Concerned Over Bush’s Attorney General Nominee.

Oliver Willis picks a good one from Salon with Twilight Of The (Conservative) White Guys.

And the General Betray Us story continues with So if Petraeus isn't a political general, why is he thinking of running for President?

And since it is Monday, The Top 10 Conservative Idiots, No. 306 has returned.

Happy National Apple Dumpling Day!

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The Petraeus Cheerleading Squad...

... from this week's The Top 10 Conservative Idiots, No. 306:

Number 3: The Petraeus Cheerleading Squad Oh, I'm sorry, have I been criticizing General Petraeus? Heaven forbid! The next thing you know, Rudy Giuliani will be running a full-page ad in the New York Times condemning me. Hey Rudy! You're an asshole! Now go run crying to Hillary Clinton and demand she apologize because I called you a rude name. Yes, last week Rudy Giuliani blamed Hillary Clinton for a MoveOn ad in the New York Times which read "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" The ad was roundly denounced by conservatives. Apparently it's once again unpatriotic and un-American to suggest that we might want to think twice before blindly accepting the word of one of Gee-Dubya's generals, despite the obvious fact that if the guy was going to tell the truth Bush would have fired him ages ago. The funny thing is, these conservatives are always banging on about "learning the lessons of history." Well how about this? It only happened five years ago so everyone ought to remember it: Just in case you've forgotten, that was when another well-respected general gave a major speech to the U.N. Security Council which contained so much bullshit that the building had to be mucked out with shovels. Shortly after Colin Powell wagged his anthrax, the U.S. media were all aboard the shock-and-awe express and it wasn't long before we were racing to Baghdad. Here's how it works: Step One: Media goes ga-ga over Colin Powell and his WMD presentation to the U.N. Step Two: Media insists that Powell is an unimpeachable source and that anyone who criticizes him must love the terrorists. Step Three: Media demands that we must invade Iraq immediately before Saddam Hussein can drop anthrax down our chimneys. Step Four: U.S. invades Iraq. No WMD are found. Things quickly turn to shit. Step Five: Media wrings hands and spanks itself for getting swept up in war fever and not being critical enough of Powell. Step Six: Media goes ga-ga over David Petraeus and his report to Congress. Step Seven: Media insists that Petraeus is an unimpeachable source and that anyone who criticizes him must love the terrorists. Etc. etc. ad nauseam. But let's be fair to the media here. What's the likelihood that George W. Bush would send two well-respected generals to con the American people into going along with another one of his batshit crazy ideas? Surely that would be highly unlikely. After all, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, I must work for CNN. By the way, I hear that Gen. Petraeus is thinking of running for president in 2012. He should ask Colin Powell for tips. I remember when that guy used to be a shoo-in.

Nailed it!

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September 16 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

Today, for your reading pleasure:

1. Oliver Willis covers the few idiot reich-wingers who showed up yesterday in Gathering Of Eagles Idiots.


2. From the GOP-hates-the-troops category watch Montana Conservative Attacks Fallen Soldier/Op-Ed Author.


3. From the Faux News channel there's FNS: Freedom’s Watch Ad: Good; MoveOn’s Ad: Character Assassination and Methinks Fox Doth Protest Too Much.


4. Rev. Darko's reviews Shoot 'Em Up in Gun Porn.

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Today on Shakedown Street

Your host, Brian Wolf, covers News and Commentary AND the return of By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them.

That's today at 4:00pm Pacific Time (-08:00) on Shakedown Street.

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The Great Iraq Swindle on Rolling Stone

The Great Iraq Swindle
How Bush Allowed an Army of For-Profit Contractors to Invade the U.S. Treasury
--From Issue 1034

How is it done? How do you screw the taxpayer for millions, get away with it and then ride off into the sunset with one middle finger extended, the other wrapped around a chilled martini? Ask Earnest O. Robbins -- he knows all about being a successful contractor in Iraq. You start off as a well-connected bureaucrat: in this case, as an Air Force civil engineer, a post from which Robbins was responsible for overseeing 70,000 servicemen and contractors, with an annual budget of $8 billion. You serve with distinction for thirty-four years, becoming such a military all-star that the Air Force frequently sends you to the Hill to testify before Congress -- until one day in the summer of 2003, when you retire to take a job as an executive for Parsons, a private construction company looking to do work in Iraq. (read the entire article)

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A Simple Question

How does turning a hemmed-in secular dictatorship into a hotbed and of — and recruiting cause for — anti-Western religious-fundamentalist terrorism make us safer?

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September 15 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

On top of the deck there's Today's simple question (How does turning a hemmed-in secular dictatorship into a hotbed and of — and recruiting cause for — anti-Western religious-fundamentalist terrorism make us safer?)

Be sure to read Say, why do we call them "conservatives" when they're really lunatic greedheads with bizarre sexual kinks?

Finally, starring Mr. "Boner," there's So, Mr. Boehner, Iraq is a Bargain? and GOP House Leader Boehner’s Excuse: Horribly Predictable.

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Nero-conservatives

I saw this posted on the Drudge Retort (Red Meat for Yellow Dogs), and thought it was a perfect description:

Hey gang, just though of a new term for those like Bowa that continue to support a strategy which diminishes the US' ability as a superpower: Nero-conservatives: Those when faced with the results of an ill-planned, ill-executed war of choice continue to erroneously cling to the fallacy that admitting error and removing our troops from a militarily impossible situation somehow equates to giving a "victory" to forces not even remotely in position to control the aggrieved country since the "enemy" is a natural foe for the majority regardless of US input whatsoever. Key mental picture: George W. Bush, slowly playing his violin as the humanitarian crisis, which is Iraq, rolls further and further into chaos for the people trying to survive the carnage and desperation of existence in a broken society. Posted by tonyroma at 2007-09-15 03:13 PM

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Saturday on the Free World Radio Network

Tune in at 10:00am Eastern Time (-05:00 GMT) for my show, Situation Awareness. Today's topic: GWOT: Nice Bumper Sticker, Lousy Policy.

And, at 11:00am Eastern Time (-05:00 GMT), The Free World Pub serves up the first round, and I'll be the bartender!

That's today on the Free World Radio Network, broadcast over Blog Talk Radio.

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Supporting the Troops, GOP-style

© dhonig 2007
Click image for larger view
Click here for original post on Hypnocrites.

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September 14 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

Numbnuts John "Boner" Boehner is the highlight of today:

1. GOP House Leader Boehner’s Excuse: Horribly Predictable
   
2. Are All Republicans As Out Of Touch As Boehner?
   
3. Losing the military vote
   
4. Small Change (a great 'Toon, which sums it all up!)

Plus, there's TDS: How Nucking Futs Is Holy Joe Lieberman?

And, on the heels of my program tomorrow there's Move Over GWOT, Hello SATE, Goodbye Iran.

Oh, and it looks like it takes about an hour or so between this update and when the updates appear on the home page of Free World Radio Network.

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Tonight on The Dark Side

Rev. Darko continues our 9/11 programming with 6 years later and it's STILL nothing but a hole.

That's tonight on The Dark Side at 7:00pm Central Time (-06:00 GMT).

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September 13 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

From the "GOP supports the troops" category there's Boehner: U.S. Soldiers’ Blood A “Small Price” To Pay In Iraq.

Also, Just because dots can be connected doesn't mean that they are connected.

For those who think that Gen. Petraeus is "special," give them The next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

And speaking of Petraeus, there's Creating Their Own Reality: President Petraeus, 2012.

On a final note, I have added code to the Free World Radio Network home page so that my News feed will be displayed there (the first ten most recent articles). I am not sure when this updated list will be appear there each day, so be sure to check back.

L'shanah tovah!

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Selective Defenders of Free Expression on Salon.com

Wednesday September 12, 2007 13:43 EST
Selective Defenders of Free Expression
by Glenn Greenwald

According to our country's great warriors, one of the main reasons we wage Glorious War Forever in the Middle East -- not just in Iraq but soon (if Norm Podhoretz's "prayers" are answered) in Iran and maybe Syria and beyond -- is because The Islamofascists pose a threat to Our Freedoms (which Muslims hate). (read the entire article)

To recap:

Censoring offensive Mohammed cartoons = Existential Threat to our Civilization.

Censoring offensive anti-Christian commentary = Glorious Victory in the Culture War.

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September 12 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

There are five items of real note:

1. Law school dean fired for liberal ‘political views.’
   
2. Keith Olbermann’s Top 9/11 Story: The Promotion Of Failure In Bush Administration
   
3. Greenwald (which I will be covering in a separate post)
   
4. You will love the math in The Art of Applying Lipstick to a Pig
   
5. Mad World ("The "surge," a word used by simpletons because the word "escalation" has too many syllables for silly, stupid Americans...")

And, from Rev. Darko's back yard there's Wishing Brittney Gilbert luck...

Once again, Happy Birthday, Michael Silliman!

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Happy Birthday, Michael Silliman!

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September 11 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

Since it is the sixth anniversary of 9/11 there are several good articles, including Self Evident, Rights and Liberties: Six Years After 9/11, Why We're Losing the War on Terror, Today is the sixth anniversary of an enormous opportunity, and my own 9/11 Did Not Change Everything!

Also, be sure to catch the General's Can Rep. McHenry's Hostel for Strapping Young Republican Lads survive this?

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9/11 Did Not Change Everything! on OpEdNews.com

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

9/11 Did Not Change Everything!
by Hans Meyer
http://www.opednews.com/

September 11, 2001, is a date forever etched into the consciousness of America, just like December 7, 1941, and November 22, 1963. The terrorist attacks in 2001, like the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the assassination of John Kennedy, are shared experiences for all Americans.

Yes: 9/11 was a shock to America, and an event (like Pearl Harbor and Kennedy’s assassination) which changed America. Americans are told that because of this shock, “9/11 changed everything.” But did it really “change everything”?

(read the entire article)

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Six Years - A Retrospective

Cry Freedom's host Lisa Litchfield looks back in her program tonight with Six Years - A Retrospective.

That's tonight at 7:00pm Central Time (-06:00 GMT) on Blog Talk Radio.

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September 10 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

First up is the most telling report on this administration's priorities in Jonathan Schwarz's Priorities (hint: human life is NOT number 1).

Then there's a most telling figure in Poll: Nearly 70 Percent Of Iraqis Say Escalation ‘Has Worsened’ Their Lives.

And from the "nobody's surprised" category there's Neuroscientist study: Conservatives prone to kneejerk reactions.

Rest in peace, Jane Wyman.

And Happy Birthday, Rebecca!

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Worth 1,000 Words

Click on image for larger view
With thanks to my friend Tom Crocker for sending this picture along to me.

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Next Up: The Seed Corn

With thanks to Corrente (Not Your Typical Mealy-Mouthed Ad) for posting this.

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September 09 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

First up, every American should read Rev. Darko's Reflections 6 Years Hence. The words are definitive American.

Be sure to not miss Not Your Typical Mealy-Mouthed Ad. All liberal/progressive ads should be as hard-hitting! I'll be posting this as a separate post.

Finally, there's Rogers Cadenhead's *ahem* Glowing Review of Lake Keowee in South Carolina.

For your laugh today there's Never Do Anything Wrong.

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In the Spotlight: Safeguarding the Separation of Church and State, Protecting Religious Liberty

Welcome to In the Spotlight, a semi-regular feature of this blog, where I highlight one or more of the links on my personal Web site, www.HansMeyer.net.

Today I'll be highlighting several sites dedicated to, as the first site says, "Safeguarding separation of church and state, protecting religious liberty."

1 First Freedom First - Safeguarding separation of church and state, protecting religious liberty:

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State:

Freedom from Religion Foundation - Protecting the Constitutional Principle of the Separation of State and Church:

Theocracy Watch - The Rise of the Religious Right in the Republican Party (a public information project of the Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy at Cornell University):

Blog Against Theocracy - This is a link archive of those blogs participating in the Blog Against Theocracy blogswarms. The next blogswarm is July 1-4, 2007 :

(go to www.HansMeyer.net/Links, then click on Opinion for 1 First Freedom First and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. Click on Information for Freedom from Religion Foundation and Theocracy Watch. Click on Blogs for Blog Against Theocracy.)

Click here for this and previous In The Spotlight posts.

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Remembering 9/11 continues today on Shakedown Street

The Free World Radio Network's week-long programming dedicated to remembering 9/11 continues today on Shakedown Street

Host Brian Wolf remembers those who died on that fateful day six years ago by playing Mozart's Requiem.

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That's today at 4:00pm Pacific Time (-08:00 GMT).

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Preview: No End in Sight

This past Monday I posted a review by Roger Ebert of the new documentary No End In Sight.

Here is the trailer for this highly recommended and much anticipated movie:

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An Appeal to turn America into Iran

Can the Alabama 'Ten Commandments' Judge Rise Again?

By Jeremy Leaming, Church and State
Posted September 7, 2007.

Ousted Alabama judge Roy Moore is waging war on church-state separation -- and you won't believe the far-out folks who are helping him.

Some excerpts from the article:

Peroutka called church-state separation a myth and a lie and claimed the Constitution, in reality, mandates just the opposite. ========== "...we might have the courage that Christ can give, the boldness that he requires and also provides, Lord, that we might fight the fight the way you want it fought, that we might hate what you hate, but that we might be godly in our hatred..." ========== Said Americans United's Lynn, "If these folks had their way, the Bill of Rights would be a thing of the past. We must make sure that Americans are aware of their extreme agenda and see to it that they don't succeed."

Read the entire article

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September 08 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

High on the deck today:

1. The Myth of Al Qaeda in Iraq


2. Report: Hagel Will Retire


3. Two posts with a common thread, The Non Americans ("How is it that we can be such a stupid society? The Germans fell for a demigod once who promised them pie in the sky but Americans fall for it every seventy years like Haley's comet.") and 'Tis a gift to be simplistic....

I covered Review: Crashing the States in a separate post earlier today.

Happy National Date Nut Bread Day!

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Review: Crashing the States

September 5, 2007

Documentary Review: "Crashing the States" A Journey into the Netroots
by Kim Grant
http://www.opednews.com/

Gary Abramson and Dante Atkins embarked on a mission into netroots anthropology: track netroots candidates and supporters in their native habitat. "Crashing the States," a documentary slated for release in early 2008 is more of a study in the power of the netroots movement than a documentary.

2006's mid-term election victories for progressive candidates signalled what should comfortably be referred to as a second coming of American democracy in the digital age. Across America -- on computers, in living rooms-turned war rooms, hotels, conventions, and banquet halls -- open political dialogues between candidates and their prospective constitutencies rolled along at a comfortable pace. Candidates in the run-up to Election Day did something that most currently seated officials regularly avoid even today - they spoke to voters and listened intently to their feedback.

(read the entire article)

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Remembering 9/11 on The Free World Radio Network

Be sure to tune in at 10:00am Eastern Time (-05:00 GMT) for my show, Situation Awareness where we begin the Free World Radio Network's week-long programming dedicated to remembering the sixth anniversary of 9/11. My topic today: 9/11 Did Not Change Everything.

And, at 11:00am Eastern Time (-05:00 GMT), The Free World Pub serves up the first round with a toast to all the first responders.

That's today on the Free World Radio Network, broadcast over Blog Talk Radio.

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September 07 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

I always love it when those who have gotten everything wrong about Iraq continue to offer their "advice." There's a prime example of that in Krauthammer: Partition Iraq.

From the "story that won't die" file there's Audio of Craig’s phone message. Is he finally out? and Just How Gay Is The GOP? / Sen. Larry 'Wide Stance' Craig, just another in a long daisy chain of happy homoevidence.

And, of course, there's Radio: Opening the Overton Window. Be sure to tune in tonight!

Happy National Chicken Month!

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Rogers Cadenhead on Today

In anticipation of tonight's The Dark Side:

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Tonight on The Dark Side.

Join host Rev. Damien Darko and his special guest, Rogers Cadenhead, as they discuss Shattering the Overton Window.

Cadenhead is the author of 17 books on computer programming and Internet development, and is the publisher of Workbench, the Drudge Retort and Watching the Watchers.

That's tonight on The Dark Side at 7:00pm Central Time (-06:00 GMT).

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Iron Law Of Institutions

Democrats And The Iron Law Of Institutions
Posted by Jonathan Schwarz at September 5, 2007 07:49 PM

From the article: Let me gently suggest that John, in his understandable frustration, is not perceiving this situation clearly. What he's overlooking is that the Democrats operate according to the Iron Law of Institutions. The Iron Law of Institutions is: the people who control institutions care first and foremost about their power within the institution rather than the power of the institution itself. Thus, they would rather the institution "fail" while they remain in power within the institution than for the institution to "succeed" if that requires them to lose power within the institution. This is true for all human institutions, from elementary schools up to the United States of America. If history shows anything, it's that this cannot be changed. What can be done, sometimes, is to force the people running institutions to align their own interests with those of the institution itself and its members. (read the entire article)

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September 06 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

While I am no Ron Paul fan (for many reasons), his back-and-forth with Mike Huckabee in last night's GOP debate (FOXNews/GOP Debate: “All we’re doing is saving face”) is well worth the watch. Tom Tomorrow also weighs in with Republican freakshow.

I'll be covering Democrats and the Iron Law of Institutions in a separate post.

Enjoy Better Breakfast Month. And be sure to vote for Rev. Darko's "sub-title" in Putting it up to a Vote.

Finally, heaven's acquired a new voice. Rest in peace, Luciano Pavarotti.

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The John Doe Movement: You even get a button!

Meet John D'oh: Michelle Malkin is Watching You by Chris Kelly "We are coming to a new order of things. There's too much talk been going on in this country. Too many concessions have been made. What the American people need is an iron hand." -- Someone in Frank Capra's Meet John Doe, but Not the Good Guy Most Americans just rolled over and surrendered when Arab terrorists took over the government and the media, but not Michelle Malkin. She's fighting back. By starting a club. All you have to do to join is report everyone you see who seems to be a foreigner. Or who seems to tolerate foreigners. Or who may be thinking foreigner-tolerating thoughts. It's like the Junior Spies in 1984, only totally fun. (read the entire article)

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Tomgram: Empire of Stupidity

Seven Years in Hell On Body Counts, Dead Zones, and an Empire of Stupidity By Tom Engelhardt On August 22nd, breaking into his Crawford vacation, the President addressed the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, giving what is already known as his "Vietnam speech." That day, George W. Bush, who, as early as 2003, had sworn that his war on Iraq would "decidedly not be Vietnam," took the full-frontal plunge into the still-flowing current of the Big Muddy, fervently embracing Vietnam analogy-land. You could almost feel his relief (and that of his neocon speechwriters). In that mud-wrestle of a speech, he invoked "one unmistakable legacy of Vietnam.... that the price of America's withdrawal was paid by millions of innocent citizens whose agonies would add to our vocabulary new terms like ‘boat people,' ‘re-education camps,' and ‘killing fields.'" The man who had so carefully sat out the Vietnam War now proclaimed that Americans never should have left that land. As he's done with so much else, he also linked the Vietnam War by an act of verbal ju-jitsu to al-Qaeda and the attacks of September 11th. 9/11, too, turned out to be part of the "price" we'd paid for succumbing to "the allure of retreat" and withdrawing way back when. ("In an interview with a Pakistani newspaper after the 9/11 attacks," intoned the President, "Osama bin Laden declared that 'the American people had risen against their government's war in Vietnam. And they must do the same today.'") (read the entire article)

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September 05 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

This Modern World (Tom Tomorrow) has four excellent posts: Jesus wept, Tom Engelhardt On Victory Culture (which I will be covering in a separate post), Thomas Friedman, then and now and Our Tiny President.

The General weighs in with Another solution for Mrs. Malkin.

And the perfect compliment to my Bush the Delusional post is Bush ‘Still Believed Saddam Possessed WMD’ In April 2006.

Happy National Cheese Pizza Day!

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Bush the Delusional

Bush on Iraq: "We're kicking ass" A day after the Government Accountability Office reported that the Iraqis have met just three of 18 benchmarks they had agreed to meet, George W. Bush offered a slightly rosier assessment of the war during his visit to Australia today. Asked by Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile to say how things are going in Iraq, the president of the United States declared: "We're kicking ass." -- Tim Grieve

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The Failure of the Surge on OpEdNews.com

September 5, 2007

The Failure of the Surge
by Hans Meyer
http://www.opednews.com/

September is upon us and the much awaited (and anticipated) report from General Petraeus on the situation in Iraq is becoming due. Already there is a certain tug-of-war between the President and Congress over whether progress is really being made in Iraq (witness the study carried out by the White House in June), or whether little (if any) progress is being made (see the just-released GAO report).

In a perverse form of poetic justice, I see that any success of the so-called surge is really just further condemnation of the entire administration approach to the execution of the Iraqi invasion and its aftermath.

(read the entire article)

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2001 to now: What America Has Lost

Click image for larger view
Click here for original post

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September 04 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

Three graphics which are succinct and funny:

1. What we have lost under BushCo.


2. Alberto GONE-zales


3. One From the Vault

Plus, there's Melanie Morgan Caught Lying and Bill Kristol starts off the post-Labor Day drive to Iran - rhetorically of course.

Happy National Macadamia Nut Day!

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Tonight: Part II of Gonzo, Gonzo, Gonzo!

Join host Lisa Litchfield for tonight's broadcast of Cry Freedom: It's all about Gonzo, Gonzo, Gonzo! The man, the memory, the dementia - Part II.

That's tonight at 7:00pm Central Time (-06:00 GMT) on Blog Talk Radio.

Be sure to tune in!

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Review: No End in Sight

No End in Sight
August 10, 2007
by Roger Ebert

Remember the scene in "A Clockwork Orange" where Alex has his eyes clamped open and is forced to watch a movie? I imagine a similar experience for the architects of our catastrophe in Iraq. I would like them to see "No End in Sight," the story of how we were led into that war, and more than 3,000 American lives and hundreds of thousands of other lives were destroyed. They might find the film of particular interest because they would know so many of the people appearing in it. This is not a documentary filled with anti-war activists or sitting ducks for Michael Moore. Most of the people in the film were important to the Bush administration. They had top government or military jobs, they had responsibility in Iraq or Washington, they implemented policy, they filed reports, they labored faithfully in service of U.S. foreign policy and then they left the government. Some jumped, some were pushed. They all feel disillusioned about the war and the way the White House refused to listen to them about it. The subjects in this film now feel that American policy in Iraq was flawed from the start, that obvious measures were not taken, that sane advice was disregarded, that lies were told and believed, and that advice from people on the ground was overruled by a cabal of neo-con goofballs who seemed to form a wall around the president. The president and his inner circle knew, just knew, for example, that Saddam had or would have weapons of mass destruction, that he was in league with al-Qaida and bin Laden, and that in some way, it was all hooked up with Sept. 11. Not all of the advice in the world could penetrate their obsession, and they fired the bearers of bad news. It is significant, for example, that a Defense Intelligence Agency team received orders to find links between al-Qaida and Hussein. That there were none was ignored. Key adviser Paul Wolfowitz's immediate reaction to Sept. 11 was "war on Iraq." Anarchy in that land was all but assured when the Iraqi army was disbanded against urgent advice from our people in the field. That meant that a huge number of competent military men, most of them no lovers of Saddam, were rendered unemployed -- and still armed. How was this disastrous decision arrived at? People directly involved said it came as an order from administration officials who had never been to Iraq. Did Bush know and agree? They had no indication. Perhaps not. A National Intelligence report commissioned in 2004 advised against the war. Bush, who apparently did not read it, dismissed it as guesswork -- a word that seems like an ideal description of his own policies. Who is Charles Ferguson, director of this film? A one-time senior fellow of the Brookings Institute, software millionaire, originally a supporter of the war, visiting professor at MIT and Berkeley, he was trustworthy enough to inspire confidences from former top officials. They mostly felt that orders came from the precincts of Vice President Cheney, that Cheney's group disregarded advice from veteran American officials, and in at least one case, channeled a decision to avoid Bush's scrutiny. The president signed, but didn't read, and you can see the quizzical, betrayed looks in the eyes of the men and women in the film, who found that the more they knew about Iraq, the less they were heeded. Although Bush and the war continue to sink in the polls, I know from some readers that they still support both. That is their right. And if they are so sure they are right, let more young men and women die or be maimed. I doubt if they will be willing to see this film, which further documents an administration playing its private war games. No, I am distinctly not comparing anyone to Hitler, but I cannot help being reminded of the stories of him in his Berlin bunker, moving nonexistent troops on a map, and issuing orders to dead generals. Cast & Credits With Campbell Scott (narrator), Barbara Bodine, Chris Allbritton, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, Col. Paul Hughes, Walter Slocombe, Seth Moulton, David Yancey, Gen. Jay Garner, George Packer, Gerald Burke, Hugo Gonzalez, Samantha Power, James Fallows, Linda Bilmes, Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, Marc Garlasco, Matt Sherman, Nir Rosen, Paul Pillar, Ray Jennings, Richard Armitage, Robert Hutchings and Yaroslav Trofimov. Magnolia Pictures presents a documentary written and directed by Charles Ferguson. Running time: 122 minutes. (read the original post)

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September 03 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

There are three stories to definitely check out today:

1. Pre-crime in Sidney


2. Bring the Whole Family!


3. DOMINIONISM: "It comes ... straight out of the pit of hell ..."

Happy National Welsh Rarebit Day!

NOTE: The Top 10 Conservative Idiots is off this week and next.

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In The Spotlight: Holding Politicians Accountable

Welcome to In the Spotlight, a semi-regular feature of this blog, where I highlight one or more of the links on my personal Web site, www.HansMeyer.net.

Today I'll be highlighting two sites dedicated to "Holding Politicians Accountable" by examining their words and advertisements, and highlighting truths, half-truths, half-lies, and outright lies.

First up is Annenberg Political Fact Check, which is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania:


The next site, PolitiFact.org, is a new site, established by the St. Petersburg Times of Florida and Congressional Quarterly of Washington, D.C., to monitor truth in 2008 presidential claims.

On a side note, I have been reading the St. Petersburg Times for almost forty years now. Fortunately, it is available each day here in Tallahassee. I highly recommend this newspaper for its journalistic integrity, whether in print or on-line.

From the St. Petersburg Times Web site:

In 1975, Nelson Poynter established the Modern Media Institute (now known as the Poynter Institute for Media Studies) as a non-profit educational institution to teach and research journalism, and to which he left his stock in the Times Publishing Company. (read the entire history of the St. Petersburg Times)

It was this move which enabled the St. Petersburg Times to remain independent and to keep it from being taken over by a media conglomerate.

With thanks to Randy Wooden, of the Wooden Foundation, for alerting me to FactCheck.org and PoltiFact.org.

Go to www.HansMeyer.net/Links, then click on Information for FactCheck.org and PoltiFact.org, or click on Traditional Media Sites for the St. Petersburg Times.

Click here for this and previous In The Spotlight posts.

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September 02 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

Right at the top there's DEJA VU CIRCA 2003. BUSH AND FOX NEWS RATCHET UP RHETORIC FOR GOING TO WAR WITH IRAN.

Also, be sure to read Liberal Oasis: Conservatism’s Failures for Katrina and Meet The Press: A Pissy Mary Matalin Throws Her Pen When Punked By Shrum.

Plus Warrantless Surveillance, Government Eavesdropping, and the Security State, which I covered in an earlier post.

Happy National Blueberry Popsicle Day!

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The Security State

Image © Austin Cline
Original Poster: National Archives
Click for full-sized Image

Warrantless Surveillance, Government Eavesdropping, and the Security State
posted by Austin Cline on Jesus' General

All attempts to defend or justify government monitoring of our communications without warrants or any other serious judicial oversight ultimately depend upon one important premise: the inherent goodness of those doing the monitoring. We are supposed to trust those given the authority to run such operations to only do so in the interests of the nation, to act only when appropriate, to never abuse their power, and to never injure the rights or privileges of the people. It's depressing that conservatives are making these arguments because this premise is contrary to the very basis of conservative political philosophy. Conservatism differs from nation to nation and culture to culture — they all have different traditions, social structures, and so forth which some wish to conserve. One thing which is common to political conservatism in the West, though, is distrust of concentrated power and authority. To put it simplistically, one of the premises political conservatism starts from is that people are basically bad and/or selfish and shouldn't be trusted too far. Often this entails erecting and maintaining strong institutions with sufficient power and authority to force people to adhere to strict standards. The further along this line of thinking a person happily goes, the more authoritarian they are. (read the entire article)

Adobe Acrobat copy of Warrantless Surveillance, Government Eavesdropping, and the Security State

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Today on Shakedown Street:

Celebrate your Labor Day holiday as host Brian Wolf Liven(s) up your BBq's with Free World Radio Network music!

That's today on Shakedown Street at 4:00pm Pacific Time (-08:00 GMT).

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"Bush Derangement Syndrome"

Crazy Critics, Krauthammer, Noonan and the Death of BDS
Commentary By Lee Russ
Watching the Watchers

Do you have to be crazy to really be bothered by President Bush's actions, attitudes, and policies? Charles Krauthammer seemed to think so, when he apparently coined the phrase "Bush Derangement Syndrome" to describe people who were rabidly critical of Bush. Specifically, Krauthammer defined "BDS" as "the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, the presidency—nay—the very existence of George W. Bush." Krauthammer's creation seems to me to be part and parcel of the attempt by conservatives to paint all critics, especially those dread "liberals" as insane. If they can convince the populace that critics of conservatism are nuts, they don't have to bother refuting all the specific criticisms. We're taught early and often in this country that it is bad to "hate." Just plain bad. So what better way to convince America that a group of people is so insane, unhinged, over-the-top, that they can be wholly ignored than to paint them as "hate mongers." I've run into this in several contexts, including the 2006 elections when I volunteered for Bernie Sanders in Vermont. Letter writers to the Vermont newspapers several times described pro-Bernie folks as hate-filled based on our criticism of his opponent, Rich Tarrant. A conservative on a message board has recently told me that I am over the top in my vilification of the right, and overly filled with partisan hate. The one and only Kevin McCullough wrote a Town Hall column titled "Why liberals hate Christians." And there are countless other examples. This little sleight of hand--to criticize me is to hate me, but it's okay for me to criticize you for hating me--is starting to fail, though, based on recent evidence. For example, Peggy Noonan of all people wrote last month that "I'm not referring to what used to be called Bush Derangement Syndrome. That phrase suggested that to passionately dislike the president was to be somewhat unhinged. No one thinks that anymore." So things are looking up just a bit in sanity land. Though I will always wonder, over and over, how such a "crazy" theory could have held sway as long as it did, when it was the conservatives who said such sweet and gentle things about their critics as Ann Coulter wrote in "Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism." So no more BDS. We've reduced it to good old fashioned BS, just in time for Tom DeLay, who says in his new book "No Retreat, No Surrender" that “liberals have finally joined the ranks of scoundrels like Hitler.” A truly love-filled observation from a man of Jesus. (read the original post)

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September 01 News Feed Update

My News feed, your virtual afternoon newspaper (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/News), has been updated for today.

Be sure to check out:

1. 9/11 Groups Want Giuliani Silent at Anniversary Ceremony


2. The lastest in "the story" Craig Resigns


3. Those Liberal Bastards which I covered in an earlier post today.


4. From the "Why and I not surprised category" there's On Hardball, DeLay falsely claimed GOP "demanded that [Foley] resign from Congress"

Happy National Cherry Popover Day!

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Joe Middle-Class Republican

Day in the Life of Joe Middle-Class Republican
A TvNewsLIES Reader contribution.
By John Gray Cincinnati, Ohio

Joe gets up at 6:00am to prepare his morning coffee. He fills his pot full of good clean drinking water because some liberal fought for minimum water quality standards. He takes his daily medication with his first swallow of coffee. His medications are safe to take because some liberal fought to insure their safety and work as advertised. All but $10.00 of his medications are paid for by his employers medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance, now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs this day. Joe’s bacon is safe to eat because some liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry. (read the entire article)

Adobe Acrobat copy of Day in the Life of Joe Middle-Class Republican

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September 1st on the Free World Radio Network...

I am on hiatus this weekend, spending time with my sister and her family. But my show, Situation Awareness will return next Saturday.

Meanwhile, The Free World Pub serves up the first round at 11:00am Eastern Time (-05:00 GMT,.

That's today on the Free World Radio Network, broadcast over Blog Talk Radio.

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